Final Fantasy IV One Half
by Dumbledork
Summary: Ranma defeats Happosai, but being the sore loser he is, the aged pervert decides to take revenge. He uses a magical scroll to summon Ifrit, but the results are not what he had expected and Ranma and Kasumi land in the FF IV universe.
1. Cecil & Kain, Ranma & Kasumi

None of the characters belong to me. This story is written purely for entertainment and not for profit. Thank you.

NOTE! This is a partial rewrite of the original prologue (and even a thousand words longer). I was accused of 'flanderization', and rightfully so. The first scene between Cecil and Kain is really over the top and doesn't really fit into the story. I still wonder what I've been smoking the day I wrote those particular lines. Oh well, this revised version is much more true to character and I hope you'll like it. There have also been some other changes in the fic, but they are less important.

On another note, I based the story on the SNES version of the game originally, since that's the version I've played, but for this fic I've been using the script of the GBA version. And much to my surprise there have been some important changes to the original story. That's why I've decided to play through the GBA version and base this story completely on the GBA version.

I don't own a Nintendo DS, and I know that there have been even bigger changes in the NDS version. So, if you have the impression that something is missing or hasn't happened that way in the game, you might have played the NDS version.

**Prologue**

A very happy, although very wet and female Ranma was frolicking through the streets of Nerima, singing one of her favorite songs,

"Risin' up, back on the street,

Did my time, took my chances,

Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet,

Just a man and his will to survive..."

She understood the irony, as she really didn't look like a man at the moment. She was in a very good mood and couldn't wait to tell Kasumi about the big victory she had scored a few minutes earlier. Even the knowledge of what Happosai had planned to do to her after he had splashed her wasn't enough to dampen her mood. No siree; she got him, and good for once. He'll be nursing his bruises for quite some time.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

At the same time, in a whole different dimension, two soldiers on a mission were travelling through Mist Valley.

"Hey Kain, wait up!"

The dragoon just sighed. "Hurry up, slowpoke! The sooner we're done in Mist, the sooner we can head back home. You know, there are more interesting things to do than play delivery boy for the king."

Cecil was barely listening to what his friend had to say and was just nodding from time to time. He had more pressing thoughts on his mind. He was thinking about drastic changes to the king's behaviour over the last few months and what that could mean. He had no idea how such a caring and kind man could have become so cruel and power hungry. Heck, he had practically raised both Kain and him like his very own; and then there was Rosa, the discussion the both of them had had the night before was still vivid in his memory. He loved Rosa dearly, and the white mage reciprocated those feelings, but it was just impossible for a dark knight like him to get together with a girl like her.

"HELLO?!" the dragoon shouted in Cecil's ear, startling the dark knight.

"Wha…? Oh! Kain? I'm really sorry. I have a lot of my mind lately."

The dragoon gave his friend a sad look. "I understand. Being demoted must have been a very big shock. I don't understand why the king did that; you're one of his most loyal men."

"Yes I know. It's not like I was questioning his orders, but my men and I were just curious. And he has never objected before."

Kain pat his friend on the shoulder. "Well, don't be so gloomy. Maybe the king is sick and that's the reason why he reacted like that. You know what? I'm sure that after this mission the king will pardon you and give you back your command. He probably gave us this boring mission just to teach you a lesson. After all, you've been an exemplary soldier so far with quite an impressive record. And I for one don't really mind this mission all that much. At least this way I can get out of the castle for a while."

"Yeah, you're probably right," the dark knight agreed. "But that's not the only thing on my mind."

"Oh?" That dragoon was visibly surprised. "What other problems could you have."

Cecil gave a heavy sigh. "Rosa."

Kain raised an eyebrow. "Did she dump you?"

"NO! It's just… I love her, you know, but as a dark knight… I don't know if we can ever have a future."

"I can't help you there, buddy, you're on your own. But you know what? There's enough time to be gloomy later on. Let's concentrate on the mission for now. We should stay on our guard; monster activity has been steadily rising over the last months and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them had taken refuge here."

The last remark sobered the dark knight up and he immediately concentrated on the task at hand. "Right, we have a job to do. The King could at least have given me a few days to rest after the attack on Mysidia. You know, I still feel bad about what we had to do. They didn't stand a chance against us. We probably could have seized the crystal without causing all that bloodshed."

"Stop it, Cecil! You did what you had to do. It was for the wellbeing and the glorious future of our kingdom. A soldier does his duty without questioning his superiors' orders. There's nothing you... LOOK OUT! SWORD RATS!"

The dark knight, however, had already taken a defensive position, protecting his torso with his shield and keeping the sword at the ready. Kain was relieved to see that his friend's situation awareness hadn't suffered at all. A fight might just be what Cecil needed to get out of the funk he was in. It only took the dragoon a few seconds to ready himself. He copied Cecil's stance, but he used a lance instead of a sword. _'Guess that confirms it; there are monsters in these caves'_, the dragoon thought_._ "Alright! Let's do this," he shouted.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

In the meantime Ranma had made it back to the Tendo compound and she was still in a good mood and humming a catchy tune. "I'm hooooome," she shouted in a sing-song voice as she entered the house proper.

Kasumi immediately came out of the kitchen to greet her, a radiant smile on her face. She was happy to see her unofficial little brother, well, sister at the moment in such a good mood. The poor dear usually didn't have much reason to be happy, what with all the problems in her life. And Kasumi really regretted the fact that she couldn't do more for their guest but cheering her on and listening to her problems. With all the crap Ranma had been subjected to in her short life, she of all people deserved some happiness. "My, my, you seem to have had a really good day." She then intensely stared at a fidgeting Ranma before a huge, mischievous grin spread on her face. "Tell me everything!"

"Alright, alright, but let me take a warm bath first. As you can see I got splashed on and my clothes are still very damp. I don't want to catch a cold. You can bask in the awesomeness of my stories as soon as I'm back". The retreating redhead chuckled when she saw the eager look the brunette was giving her. She quickly went to her room to get some fresh clothes, before entering the bathroom, not forgetting to put up the 'occupied' sign. This had become a conditioned reflex since mallet strikes to the head were not very healthy, not that it bothered the tomboy all that much. Sometimes Ranma had the feeling that Akane had a hidden sadistic streak and enjoyed hitting her all too much. No, she really didn't want to have the youngest Tendo ruin her good mood.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

"Well, that was easy," Kain boasted as he removed his lance from the Sword Rat's corpse. "They hardly were a challenge. Nothing to be worried about."

"You should stay on your guard, Kain," the dark knight chided his friend and companion. "Who knows what else is lurking around."

"That coming from the guy who was daydreaming in hostile territory a few moments ago?" Kain chuckled.

Cecil couldn't hide a blush of embarrassment as he mentally admitted that fact. But he stayed focused. These enemies might have been easy to kill, but there was always the possibility that more of them had invaded the tunnels. Better safe than sorry. And the wiseness of that approach became rapidly apparent when they stumbled into an ambush further along the way. Cecil was the first to notice the group of Insectus trapping them in a pincer attack. He congratulated himself for his foresight as he easily managed to block the first attack with his shield.

He looked at Kain and was relieved to see that his friend was alright. And while they were busy fighting off the four Insectus, neither of them noticed the fifth one creeping up on Kain and biting him in the leg.

"YEOUCH!" The dragoon jumped in the air in pain and when he looked down he was dismayed to see the monster was still firmly attached to his leg. With a mighty lance stab he impaled it, but the damage had already been done. His face slowly turned green and he felt queasy in the stomach.

"KAIN!" Cecil cried out after seeing the predicament his friend was in. "Jump as high as you can. I'll clear the way with my special attack." Kain gave a small nod of understanding and jumped as high as he could. He hoped that he could hold out long enough for Cecil's attack to do his job; he was starting to feel really sick and he didn't know how long he would be able to stay awake. He could already feel unconsciousness claiming him.

"DARK WAVE"! The dark knight yelled and was relieved and satisfied to see that the dark energy beam that he had channelled through his blade had been strong enough to obliterate the remaining enemies.

Kain was writhing on the ground in obvious pain while holding his injured leg. However, it didn't take long for his struggles to calm down and Cecil knew he had to act fast, lest he lost his friend. The pus coming out of the wound confirmed Cecil's suspicions; the Insectus had indeed poisoned his friend. He checked his backpack for an antidote and to his relief found several among the score of potions he had taken with him. He silently thanked Rosa for her foresight. She always insisted that he should carry a large assortment of all kind of potions on all of his missions.

He opened the dragoon's mouth and carefully poured the potion down his throat. To his relief the antidote took immediately effect and neutralized the poison. Soon after Kain's breathing became regular and a few minutes later he woke up. Cecil immediately handed him a healing potion and the wound closed up, not even leaving a scar behind. Kain got up and the two of them resumed their journey.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Kasumi was busy preparing dinner. Outwardly she looked calm and serene, showing her usual happy face everyone was accustomed to, but inwardly she was bursting with curiosity. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but sometimes she envied Ranma and his 'friends'. They were having all kinds of adventures while she had to stay home and do all of the household chores. She didn't really mind it all that much as she took pride in the impeccability of her work, but sometimes it got old, doing the same things day in and day out. At first she had frowned at the chaos Ranma had brought into her life, but her perception of the boy rapidly changed. Ranma was a godsend in her opinion; a welcome distraction from her daily routine. Now, she didn't have any romantic feelings for the pigtailed boy, but he had become a member of her family and he was just as much one of her siblings as her sisters were, and she would be very sad if he were to ever leave their home as he would probably take the chaos with him, and with it the only excitement Kasumi had in her boring life.

And the there were Ranma's stories. The pigtailed boy might exaggerate and embellish his adventures a little bit, but, if her sisters were to be believed, not by much. He was a natural when it came to telling poignant and entertaining stories, and while it may not be the same as being personally involved, it was enough to brighten her day. But still, the ponytailed woman would give a lot for the opportunity to accompany Ranma on at least one of his adventures. Thinking about the possibility was enough to make her giddy and sometimes she wondered how her family might react if they knew of her secret desire. After all, she was just 'good old Kasumi' to them.

Meanwhile, Ranma had finished his bath and was putting on some fresh clothes, while thinking about the most entertaining way to tell the story. And what a story it was. They should write a book about his impressive victory, and maybe give it an awe-inspiring title like 'The demise of the evil panty thief of Nerima'.

Whistling an uplifting tune he joined Kasumi in the kitchen. As soon as the young woman saw the martial artist approach her heart skipped a beat and her eyes lit up. She started to reminisce about better times, when her mother would come into her room in the evening and tell her some nice bedtime stories. This was not the same thing, but Ranma always made her feel like a little girl again when he told his stories, a little girl with dreams of fairy tales and adventures and not a single worry in the world.

"Are you ready, Kasumi?" the young man enquired in the most dramatic tone he could manage. "Be prepared for a story of woe, a story of self-sacrifice and heroics, and a story about a gallant knight who rode off to slay the evil, perverted goblin of Nerima."

While the young martial artist was getting in the mood Kasumi was preparing dinner. Ranma loved Kasumi's admiring look whenever he arrived at a particularly juicy moment of his stories. He very much preferred the carefree Kasumi to the perfect housemaid she image she reluctantly projected most of the time. Even so the ponytailed girl wasn't neglecting her duties, since she could easily look at Ranma, listen to his stories, and add ingredients and seasonings to her cooking at the same time. Her family would probably be shocked if they ever saw her like this, but she didn't care. Ranma's stories were one of the very few pleasures she had and she would never let them ruin that. No one would keep her from enjoying a good story.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Back in the Mist Cave Cecil was cursing up a storm. "Dammit! This is really starting to piss me off. Already five encounters and we're not even out of the tunnel yet."

Kain shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing we can do about it. We have our orders and if we have to go through scores of monsters to finish the mission then so be it. The mission before anything else. Now, just calm down."

_TURN BACK!_

The two soldiers immediately took up their fighting stances and looked around for the owner of the strange voice. "Did you hear that, Kain? What do you make of it?"

"No idea. It does sound rather solemn and hollow, however. Definitely not human, though. Do you think it might be a monster?"

_LEAVE AT ONCE!_

"Maybe it's the beast of Mist Valley, Kain. Hiding is probably futile since the voice knows we're here. Let's try and find out what it wants." The dark knight formed a horn with his hands and shouted, "Hello? Who are you? What do you want?"

_KNIGHTS OF BARON__!_

Kain couldn't hide his surprise. "Hey Cecil. Looks like the thing knows who we are, and it doesn't sound very friendly. I have a bad feeling about this."

_LEAVE AT ONCE OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!_

"Definitely not friendly," the dark knight confirmed his friend's suspicions. "But I can't see anyone. Let's just continue and see what happens. It's not like we can fight an invisible foe after all. What do you think?"

"Let me try something first, okay?" The dragoon didn't wait for his friend's confirmation and shouted, "SHOW YOURSELF!"

_YOU __CHOOSE TO IGNORE MY WARNINGS?_

"Maybe we can reason with it," Cecil whispered to his friend. "I would rather avoid another fight so soon, and if we can find a peaceful solution all the better. It's worth a try at least."

Cecil tried to reason with the voice once more. "I'm sorry, but we have to get to Mist. We're not turning back. So please, let us through."

_SO BE IT!_

The two soldiers gulped. THAT hadn't sounded friendly at all.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

"... The old freak was already rather winded after his encounter with Pantyhose Taro and thought that splashing me with cold water and snuggling to my breasts for a quick recharge was a good idea. Unfortunately for him he wasn't nearly as fast as when he's in top condition and so I managed to block his attempt with a trash bin lid I found on the ground. Since he was already on his last leg it was rather easy for me to beat him. And you can't imagine how good it felt to finally be able to pay him back for all the crap he has put me through. He won't probably learn anything from it and be back to his usual antics very soon, but the thrashing was hopefully enough to keep him quiet for a few days. I could really use a break. You might think that I shouldn't be all that proud for beating an already diminished enemy, but if he hadn't tried to molest me I'd have left him alone."

Just as Kasumi was telling Ranma not to worry about it too much and confirm that the old man was in the wrong, the aforementioned person came crawling into the living room. He looked like shit, and that was also how he felt. He was very angry, furious even and already thinking about getting even. '_How dare that ungrateful whelp treat his master like that? Ranma should feel honoured that I consider his delightful female body beautiful enough to serve as a battery for my needs. He should know his place. In my time I would never have dared to defy my master like that. The bastard just had to spoil my fun. He'll pay for that… and with interest'_.

With a Herculean effort Happosai managed to pull his tired and battered body up. In obvious pain he slowly hobbled over to the pair in the kitchen and addressed Ranma in a venomous tone, startling the two of them who hadn't even noticed his arrival, "Enjoy your small victory. This was a fluke and it will never happen again. But mark my words. You WILL pay!" Then he cackled evilly. "Oh yes, you will pay. You'll never know what hit you. I guarantee it." Then he slowly walked to his room to nurse his wounds, glad that he had kept the regeneration stone he had 'borrowed' from the Amazons all those years ago. That particular stone was an ancient artefact capable of healing almost any wound. Too bad it was only usable once every 50 years, but getting revenge was much more important than the waste of a priceless artefact. Ranma was probably feeling very safe now, but once Happosai recovered his energy he would get a nasty surprise. And the old grandmaster wouldn't give the pigtailed boy any time to recover."

Even after the old man had left the pigtailed boy was still shivering, thinking that it might not have been very wise to brag about his victory so much. He knew the pervert well enough to know the old coot never made empty threats. "What do you think, Kasumi? Should I feel concerned?"

The brunette considered this for a moment before answering. "I think you should. You know as well as I do that he can hold a grudge for a very long time. Maybe you should apologize."

"WHAT?" The teen shouted. "He tried to grope me, and I should be the one apologizing. No way. Hell will freeze over before I ever apologize to that letch."

Kasumi sighed. Damn the boy's ego. On the other hand, that was also one of his charms. "Ranma, I know that it's not your fault, and that your reaction was justified, but sometimes it's better to swallow one's pride and to grin and bear it. You know how difficult it is to beat him when he's in top condition. So you had better avoid that confrontation and simply apologize."

"I'll, think about it", he answered, "but I don't like it one bit."

"I know. But consider this. You're still young and haven't reached your peak yet. Give it a few more years and you'll mop the floor with him. Just bide your time and hit him when he doesn't expect it. Ah well, enough of that now. Dinner's ready. Get the others while I serve the food."

"You're really devious, Kasumi Tendo. You know that? You'll come to a bad end. Mark my words!" Ranma prophesized before leaving, while Kasumi gave him her best 'I couldn't hurt a fly' impression.

While Ranma was calling the others for dinner, a fully healed Happosai was browsing through his most prized possessions, which didn't include his panty collection, searching for anything that could help him exact his revenge on his uncooperative student.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Cecil and Kain were getting ready for battle. They didn't know what to expect, but their instincts told them that it wouldn't be an easy fight; they could feel it in their bones.

"Cecil, look! The mist is gathering. It's---it's taking shape."

Slowly the mist took a more defined shape as it morphed into a gigantic, misty dragon; the top half of one at least. The thing was more than 6 meters tall. Its spiky, crested, long neck ended in a large draconic head with pupil-less, green eyes. Two large batwings protruded out of its back and two small horns poked out of its head. The bottom half of the creature, however, was not defined at all as it was composed of formless mist. It looked imposing... and dangerous.

"It's---it's huge" Cecil gulped. "This looks really bad. How are we supposed to fight something like that?"

"No idea," Kain answered in a shaky voice, "and no time for planning. HERE IT COMES!"

The two warriors barely managed to jump out of the way of the large maw trying to bite them in two.

"That was close," Kain observed. "My turn now. I'll show you what a dragoon of Baron can do. JUMP!"

While the dragoon took to the air, Cecil attacked the creature with his sword. The creature let out a shriek as the slash managed to inflict a small wound. He quickly realized the importance of that fact. Anything that can be hurt can also be killed. "Kain!" The dark knight shouted. "I managed to wound it, so that means it's solid enough for our attacks to do damage."

Just then Kain came back down right above the monster and, keeping his lance downward, impaled the thing. The dragon let out a pained bellow but didn't look badly hurt. "That thing is tough," the dragoon remarked. "It might take us a while to bring it down."

And the fight went on. The dragon tried to disembowel Cecil with its sharp talons, but the dark knight managed to block the blow with his shield. The dragon couldn't land a decisive blow as the two knights were working together in perfect unison, making use of their intensive training to protect each other while dealing damage alternatively. Whenever the creature attacked one of them, the other would launch a retaliatory attack. However, the dragon was wearing them down, and they knew it.

Suddenly the dragon changed tactics. Right in front of the astonished men it turned entirely into formless mist. They decided to be cautious and to wait for the monster's next move. To their surprise, nothing happened. The mist wasn't attacking them at all.

The two men were wondering what that meant and launched a combined attack at the monster, believing that it was an easy target..

Unfortunately, their attack didn't have the slightest effect as they passed right through the misty cloud. This surprised and distracted them to such an extent that they completely forgot to put their guard up again. The monster took advantage of their blunder and blew a cold cloud of mist at them, doing considerable damage and throwing them to the ground.

"Wha---what was that?" Cecil cried out, slowly getting up.

"I don't know." Kain answered. He looked much worse for the wear but he gritted his teeth and readied his next attack. "But it hurt a lot. How are we supposed to protect ourselves against that kind of attack? One more of those and we'll probably be done for. I just think it's strange that it didn't use that attack before. Do you think that its new shape might be the reason?"

"Hmmmm, you might be on to something. Did you notice that it didn't use that mist until we attacked? I got a hunch but… let's wait for a bit and see if I'm correct."

They were standing still in a defensive position and Cecil was glad to see that he had guessed right. "Just as I thought," he told his friend. "As long as we don't attack it doesn't react."

They waited for another minute and saw the mist returning to its draconic form. "Let's use our strongest attack," Cecil shouted.

"Right." Kain answered. "JUMP!"

While the dragoon was in the air Cecil readied his signature move that all dark knights were able to use. He generally used the attack only as a last resort since it drained his life energy, but sometimes he had to do it anyway, even if he risked his life by doing so. He watched Kain come down, and just before the dragoon made contact Cecil jumped into action. "DARK WAVE!" He shouted before a malevolent looking dark beam left his hands. This attack was much larger than the one he used against de Insectus and left him panting. The two attacks impacted at exactly the same spot and were enough to deal a critical blow to the dragon. The imposing creature went down and slowly disintegrated, leaving nothing but some dust behind.

"Finally," the dark knight said as he let out a relieved sigh. "I'm completely spent. Thank God it's over. Hand me a potion, please."

Kain tossed his friend a vial and downed one himself, immediately recovering some of his energy. "Ah, that's the ticket. I really need to thank Rosa for her foresight. So, are you ready to continue? The exit is just over there, right where the monster had been. The mist had concealed it rather well."

Cecil nodded and the two men exited the large room, glad to finally be out of the gloomy atmosphere of the Mist Cave and back in the sunlight.

As they were walking through the plains Cecil and Kain were basking in the warm rays of the sun. "How far is it?" The dark knight asked.

"Not very far. About one or two kilometers if I remember correctly. I've only been to the village once, and that has been years ago."

"Thank god," Cecil said. "After we've delivered this package I'll have a drink or two at the bar and lay up my feet for a bit. They are killing me."

Kain laughed. "That sounds like a plan. I think I'll do the same. Let's hurry up. The sooner we're there, the sooner we can hit the bar."

As they hurried along they were attacked by another group of monsters, two Insectus and two Flying Eyes.

"Don't let the Insectus bite you, Kain," the dark knight warned. "I'm low on antidotes."

"Don't worry; I'm not planning on letting them. Once was enough. Let's kick some monster ass and then we can have a nice, cold beer once we're in Mist."

"Now you're talking," Cecil answered. "Let's go!"

Motivated by thoughts of a cool drink, the two men made quick work of the monsters. Having dealt with Insectus before they knew where the weak points were and one strike into their soft underbellies later they were dead. The Flying Eyes however were new to them. They were hovering in the air and were fast and flexible enough to evade almost all of the warriors' blows. Cecil didn't want to launch another Dark Wave since he didn0t want to waste any more of his life force, but that didn't mean he was out of ideas, not by a long shot.

"Hey, Kain. I have an idea but I need your help."

"What do you need?" The dragoon asked.

"Take my hand and throw me at them. I'll certainly be able to kill at least one of them. And your jump should then be enough to deal with the other one. They probably won't expect it."

Kain was a little dubious as this sounded rather reckless, but not having a better plan he agreed. The dark knight held his sword firmly in his right hand as Kain took his left and launched him in the air. With a mighty blow Cecil cut the monster in two. The dragoon didn't waste any time and jumped into the air coming down hard on the second monster.

"See? We did it," Cecil grinned. "And they didn't even hit us once. We're a great team, don't you think?"

Kain snorted. "Of course. Let's be on our way, it's not very far now. Look, you can already see the outskirts of the village in the distance. I'd say five minutes tops until we're there.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

In the Tendo dining room Ranma was busy setting the table, his growling stomach betraying his thoughts. He couldn't wait to get his teeth into another one of Kasumi's culinary masterworks. Damn, the girl could cook. Ranma wasn't a slouch in the kitchen either, much to Akane's dismay, and even if he had been able to learn a lot from the ponytailed girl, it would be a long time before he could match her skill, if ever.

Having finished with his task he rapidly went looking for the other residents and hoped they'd be quick. The fight had really taxed his reserves and was starving. So he called everyone to table and joined Kasumi in the kitchen once again to help her bring out the food.

When Kasumi and Ranma came out of the kitchen all of the others residents were already seated and waiting expectantly. She was happy too see the joy a simple meal could bring to their faces. One seat was empty, though. "Where's Uncle Happosai?" She asked.

"He didn't answer when I knocked at his door" the pigtailed martial artist answered. "Maybe I hurt him worse than I thought. Just as well. At least we can eat in peace for once."

"What was that about the Master?" Genma asked. He must have misheard. Ranma? Beat the Master? Preposterous. He scoffed at the idea. If a martial artist of his calibre couldn't defeat the Master, then his son's chances would not only be slim but inexistent.

The question got the attention of the rest of the household, minus Kasumi who had already heard the story.

"Oh yeah, I haven't told you yet. I defeated the freak earlier on. Now what do you say to that?" The pigtailed boy addressed his father and Mr. Tendo personally with an arrogant grin plastered on his face. "I managed to do what you two have never been able to."

Genma and Soun blanched. "YOU DID WHAT?" They shouted in unison. "Are you out of your mind?" Genma asked incredulously. "Don't you know what you've just unleashed? You have never felt the Master's wrath before. We have, and believe me when I say it isn't pretty. Apologize at once and maybe he'll spare you. The pranks he pulled the last time you angered him are nothing compared to his full wrath."

"Too late," an aged voice coming from the stairs proclaimed. "The boy has dug his grave and now he must lie in it."

Ranma was surprised to see a fully healed Happosai walking down the stairs and into the dining room and wondered how he could have recovered so fast. The young martial artist shuddered, not liking the malicious tone the old martial artist had used.

"You will yet learn to respect your elders. After I'm through with you, you will beg me on your knees to spare your worthless life. And I've just the thing to teach you the error of your ways."

Ranma was really shivering now and when he looked for the rest of the family he noticed that Kasumi and he were the only ones left in the room.

Kasumi really feared for Ranma's life this time and didn't want to abandon him. Throwing caution to the wind she thought that her friend should have at least someone to give him moral support in the hard fight that was about to take place. She wasn't about to abandon the pigtailed boy. She wanted to appease the aged master, but before she could get even one word in Ranma had already been sent flying through the window and into the yard. She run outside to check on him and helped the dazed boy get up on his feet.

Ranma took a stance, waiting for Happosai's next move, but was surprised to see the aged master calmly come out of the house while taking a scroll out of his gi and unrolling it very slowly.

"This here is the means to your punishment," the Anything Goes grandmaster said. He unrolled the scroll completely and intoned a chant in a language neither Ranma nor Kasumi had ever heard before.

Just as the old man had finished his incantation a large, fiery portal opened in the middle of the yard and a frightening, humanoid monster stepped out of it. The red skinned and heavily muscled creature was over six meters tall and two very long and intimidating horns were growing out of its head. In a loud, booming voice it asked "WHO HAS THE IMPUDENCE TO SUMMON THE SPIRIT OF FIRE, IFRIT?"

Neither the people in the yard, nor the cowards well hidden in the house and peering out of the windows had ever seen a creature more imposing than the one summoned by the aged master. Not even the Orochi, Herb or Saffron had exuded that much raw power. Ranma was afraid; very afraid even. He hated showing fear, but in this instance he could be forgiven, since the creature's aura was so heavy and imposing that it had effectively paralyzed him. He was more afraid for Kasumi's life since Kasumi was neither used to the craziness nor durable enough to withstand it. Usually she watched from the sidelines and was in no danger, but this time she was caught in the middle of it. Ranma knew that this was too big even for him, but with some effort, he had managed to shake off the paralyzing effect and positioned himself in front of the brunette, protecting her with his body. Oh how he secretly wished he could join the others inside. Anything to get away from the monster.

The ancient master had no idea what kind of creature he had just summoned, but that didn't bother him too much. He just did what he usually did in an unknown situation, he improvised and hoped for the best. "I did, oh Great Lord Ifrit," Happosai answered in a solemn tone. "I need you to teach my student a lesson he will never forget. It is unseemly for a student to defy his sensei."

Ifrit snorted. "YOU DARE SUMMON ME FOR SUCH A TRIVIAL PURPOSE WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A VALID SUMMONING CONTRACT? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? ONLY SUMMONERS THAT I APPOINT MYSELF ARE ENTITLED TO ASK ME FOR ASSISTANCE!"

Happosai was known for his stubbornness, and he didn't take lightly to people not curbing to his wishes and so he made the gravest and last mistake in his long life; in his arrogance he defied the overly powerful being. "Now listen here; I've seen the movies and read the books. As long as I have the contract in my hands YOU-MUST-OBEY-ME!"

Happosai was totally shocked by Ifrit's reaction, however. He hadn't expected the powerful summon to simply laugh in his face. "ME? A DEMON? DON'T COMPARE ME TO THOSE WEAK FOOLS! YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH. MY KIND DATES BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF TIMES AND WE'RE MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN DEMONS. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE PARCHMENT YOU USED HAS LANDED IN THIS WORLD, BUT SOMEONE VERY POWERFUL MUST HAVE CREATED AND SOMEHOW BROUGHT IT TO THIS PLANE. IN ANY CASE IT'S NOT A VALID SUMMONING CONTRACT. FURTHERMORE IT WOULD BE WISE NOT TO USE THAT TONE WITH ME."

Happosai was really furious now and before his brain could devise a prudent approach to this complication his mouth had already opened and pronounced the words that would seal his fate. "You will obey me! I hold the contract and whatever you say won't change that fact. Now, I want you to…"

The aged master didn't have time to finish the sentence. Ifrit had finally lost his patience and decided to terminally deal with the wretched, pitiful, and weak mortal creature who had dared to dismiss his warning. And after a booming shout of "HELLFIRE!!!" flames shot out of the powerful summon's mouth and engulfed the old man before he had time to react, incinerating him on the spot. The flames were so hot that they melted the ground underneath the old pervert, and after they had died down not even ashes were left. Happosai and the contract were no more. "I WARNED THE MORTAL. LET THAT BE A LESSON TO EVERYONE. WE OBEY NO ONE."

Not bothering with the other insignificant people around him, Ifrit opened a portal back to his home plane and stepped through.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Cecil examined the village as they were approaching it, trying to discern what made this village so special that it had warranted the deployment of two high-ranking officers to deliver a simple package when a courier could have accomplished the task just as well. He wondered if it really was a mere punitive mission or if the King might have had an ulterior motive. He had to admit that Kain was right, however; it wasn't up to him to question his superior's orders.

They weren't far away from the village when Kain noticed something about their mysterious package. "Cecil, look at the package. It's glowing. Cecil unhooked the package from his belt and examined it. It was cylindrical and wrapped in ordinary paper, but when he saw the glow increase in intensity and the cylinder expand he threw the package away from him as far as he could manage. That he had made the right choice became evident very soon as the thing exploded shortly after he had got rid of it and released a large quantity of bombs. They didn't look like your ordinary everyday bomb, however. Someone had tampered with them and they were a lot bigger than normal ones and reeked even more of dark magic. They flew over to Mist Village and began laying waste to it.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

The portal in the Tendo yard was slowly collapsing into itself, but just as it was about to close completely it rapidly expanded again, getting even larger than it was originally. That was when something frightening happened; it started sucking in everything in its vicinity, just like a black hole would. Ranma was clinging to a tree root with his left hand while grasping Kasumi's arm with his right. If it had only been him the pigtailed teen would probably have been able to resist the pull, but as he had to think about Kasumi's safety he couldn't let her go and use his other hand to anchor himself more firmly to the tree. So it was no surprise that after a short while the pull was too strong for him to resist and he reluctantly let go of the eldest Tendo daughter's hand. "KASUUUUMI!" He shouted just before the attraction force of the portal got so strong it uprooted Ranma's anchor point and sucked both the tree and Ranma in. Just after the young martial artist had disappeared the portal rapidly shrunk down until it disappeared with a 'pop', leaving a destroyed yard in its wake.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

On the outskirts of Mist a portal opened a few meters above the ground and spewed out two unconscious teenagers as well as most of the Tendo's yard, before collapsing. No more than a hundred meters away Mist was burning and the stench of burning flesh and wood permeated the air, causing both teens to wake up and fall into a coughing fit. Ranma was still a little dazed but rapidly got his bearings back. "KASUMI!" He shouted and looked frantically around, fearing the worst. When he saw her on the ground, coughing her lungs out, he hurried over to the young woman. "Are you *cough* all right?" He asked in a caring voice.

Kasumi opened her eyes and smiled at the pigtailed boy. "It *cough* could be better *cough*, but *cough* I'll survive."

Just then the wind direction changed and they were able to breathe easier. They looked into the direction the stench was coming from. Their eyes opened wide when they saw the burning village and people on fire running out of the houses and rolling on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames.

Ranma immediately knew what he had to do, but before he could run to the village and try to save as many of the poor souls as possible he was held back by Kasumi. "Kasumi, what are you doing? Can't you see that the people are in pain? I have to help them."

Kasumi bowed her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Ranma, but please, take a closer look. See? It's already too late. There's nothing you can do. You would only put yourself in danger without making a difference. I know you consider it your duty to help people whenever you can, and I like that side of you, but you're often too impulsive for your own good. Don't take this the wrong way, but you could have avoided a lot of your problems if you had just taken the time to think before acting. Just wait until the fire looses in intensity. Even an accomplished martial artist like you won't be able to survive very long in those toxic fumes."

"But they..." Before Ranma could finish his sentence the brunette had put a finger on his lips.

"Look at the village. There's nothing left but burning ruins, and I can't imagine anyone being able to survive such a catastrophe. I know it's hard and I feel for the poor souls, but I don't want to lose you. I have no idea where we are, and should anything happen to you, I'd be all alone. I know I might sound egoistic, but… I'm scared. We don't know anything about the cause of the fire and we should be cautious."

The pigtailed youth listened attentively to Kasumi's arguments and was really impressed by her situational awareness. He didn't like to think about his shortcomings, but he knew that he was a tad bit impulsive, which incidentally was the cause a lot of the misunderstandings he had with Akane. He was also aware that Kasumi had a lot more common sense than he had. He nodded his head and waited with his friend for the fire to die down.

Not much later, and much to their surprise, they saw one of the bodies moving and a young, green haired girl crawling out from under it with tears flowing out of her eyes. She kneeled down in front of the corpse and cried even harder.

Ranma and Kasumi were crying and grieving with the girl, but unanimously decided to try and help her, but when they saw two men wearing heavy, sinister looking armour approach the crying girl they decided to hide behind a rock and see how that played out. "Mommy! If your dragon hadn't died you'd still be alive. Who would do something like that? You never hurt anyone and always had a kind word for everyone in the village. Why did this have to happen?"

Cecil's and Kain's eyes widened when they heard this.

"So it was true," Kain said. "I've heard of people with the power to summon monsters... Summoners, they are called."

"Then..." Cecil stammered, "we are the ones responsible for killing her mother by killing the

Dragon?"

The young girl immediately looked over to them and her grief turned into rage. "WHAT? You killed my mother's dragon? It's your fault she's dead?"

"We... we didn't know that would happen," Cecil tried to apologize.

The girl was in too much emotional turmoil to hear the dark knight's heartfelt apology and ran over to him and struck him repeatedly in the stomach with her small fists. "I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU!!!"

Kain looked dispassionately at the spectacle and addressed his friend in an uncaring tone, "So that was the king's wish... to annihilate every summoner in this village.

That thought horrified Cecil. "That can't be..."

"I'm afraid it's true," Kain continued. "I'm also afraid we're going to have to get rid of the girl."

Cecil looked at the dragoon with a 'you can't be serious' expression etched on his face. "WHAT !?"

"NO!" They heard the girl shout as she took a step back, her earlier rage induced courage spent.

Ranma had heard enough. He had no intention of letting the sinister, armour-clad men kill a helpless and innocent girl. A very strong battle aura formed around him as he was about to run over to the two killers, but before he had made even one step a strange but frighteningly familiar thing happened. A portal opened in front of the girl and a huge, overly muscled, curly haired man stepped out of it. The giant was at least 6 meters tall and only clad in a loincloth. 'Oh shit', Cecil and Kain thought simultaneously.

*****BESTIARY*****

Sword Rat: the Sword Rat is one of the less dangerous monsters a traveller may encounter and looks like a cross between a rat and a porcupine, but much larger. The Sword Rat generally is the dame size as a large pony. Its most dangerous weapon, and also its greatest protection, are the sharp needles covering its back. The Sword Rat launches them at its enemies with deadly accuracy and they grow back immediately. The creature's threat level is not to be underestimated though, as many an unprepared adventurer has met their demise at its needles.

Insectus: the Insectus is a very large blue larva with yellow motives covering its body. It looks rather harmless at first glance, but appearances can be deceiving. Its greatest threat lies in the number of creatures attacking. They generally appear in groups of at least three individuals, but groups of more than 10-15 individuals have been spotted. Its most potent attack is the venom it injects into its victims through its bite. It only has animal level intelligence though, and so, to a careful adventurer who carries a supply of antidotes, this monster is nothing more than an irritating pest. But woe to the unlucky souls who stumble upon a larger group. So here's a tip to all of you aspiring and novice adventurers: never forget to restock at the nearest village if you run out of antidotes.

Flying Eyes: the Flying Eyes is the evolved form of the Insectus. It looks like a sinister, giant butterfly and has large, purple butterfly wings, with a large, round spot on each wing. Two long antennae grow out of its head. It's a very fast flyer and therefore very hard to hit for most adventurers. Thankfully it's not very durable and one solid blow is usually enough to kill it. Its most frightening feature is its very long proboscis, which it uses to inject a digestive fluid into an incapacitated victim; afterwards it only has to wait for the fluid to liquefy the organs, before completely draining the corpse of its fluids, leaving only an empty husk behind.

Bomb: the Bomb is one of the most vicious and spiteful magical creatures in existence. It's not a natural monster, but it was created by mages centuries ago to serve as sentient bombs against their enemies. Unfortunately, the mages lost control of their creations and the Bomb was able to spread over the world. The vicious and spiteful creature has no sense of self-preservation and revels in the destruction of other sentient beings. Thus, it doesn't hesitate to sacrifice its life for the chance to cause extreme prejudice and take its enemies with it into death. The Bomb is a burning, red sphere the size of a human with a very large maw, filled with large and pointy teeth. Its arms are only small stubs that are not even strong enough to grab anything. It has two very large eyes that are set in a perpetual frown. Its 'hair' is formed of fiery tendrils that end in small balls of fire.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES!**

I try to use a more realistic approach and to forgo a lot of RPG elements from the FF games that don't make sense, like monsters dropping items or money. The only monsters dropping money and items will be humanoid monsters and some of the more intelligent creatures. Monsters with only animal level intelligence won't drop anything, but it's possible to find items nearby that belonged to previous victims.

To earn money and adventurer needs to belong to a hunter's guild. Every member gets a magical book that catalogues the number of monsters an adventurer kills. The tougher the monster, the more money the guild pays.

Some monster parts can be used as potion ingredients and harvesting them can bring in extra money, but I don't think I'll use that idea very much, except if it is vital to the plot.

Magic users recover mana gradually. Sleeping or meditating increases the mana recovery rate.

There'll be elements from other Final Fantasy games (spells, jobs and items) in this fic and I plan to add an extra continent. Ranma won't join Cecil's party until much later in the story but will form his own instead (major members being Kasumi and Rydia). After all, his main goal is to find a way back into his home dimension.

The bestiary entries are of course completely fictional and if you have any interesting ideas I'll add them and credit you for them.

And please vote or tell me what you think. I'll answer every review I get. And the more reviews I get the faster I'll update. After all, if I see that my stories are appreciated by the readers it gives me the necessary incentive to update faster.

POSTED 2008/10/26

EDITED 2009/07/01


	2. Rydia

**Disclaimer (which from a legal standpoint isn't worth squat, but since everyone else does it far from me the thought to want to break with tradition):**

None of the characters, situations, or locations belongs to me, bla bla bla… The only thing I get out of this is the satisfaction that I might have entertained a few people.

And before I forget, my good friend Borat Sagdiyev wants to add something. "If readers not like or not review, and if fic not success, Dumbledork will be execute." "Thank you, Borat. I don't think the readers care, but it was a nice thought. And now, on with the show."

**CHAPTER 1**

Everyone was frozen in place except for the giant who, with a mighty stomp, caused a heavy earthquake that threw everyone to the ground and created a large fissure starting at his foot and continuing for several kilometers. All the people present were shocked when they saw the very large fissure that now marred the landscape. Not taking time to check if the knights were injured or not Ranma made good use of the general confusion and as the dust that had yet to settle he had the perfect cover to run over to the girl, grab her and sprinted away from those ruthless killers. When he got back to Kasumi he grabbed her too and ran away at top speed, leaving a dust cloud in his wake.

Only when the village was no longer in sight did he stop and let go of the two girls.

Taking a closer look at the grime covered, shivering girl, Ranma's heart went out to her. She had just seen her world crumble and was in dire need of comforting. He vowed then and there that he'd do everything in his power to make her feel better. He didn't know what losing one's family felt like, but he knew about loneliness, having grown up with only his father as a constant presence, being tortured in the name of martial arts training, and feeling miserable quite often. No way would he let this sweet little girl experience something similar.

"Who… who are you?" Rydia asked after she had recovered from her surprise.

"A friend," Ranma smiled at her. "Don't worry. I got you away from those evil men who wanted to kill you. You're safe now."

The greenette relaxed a bit but didn't put her guard down until she saw Kasumi smiling at her. Some considered Kasumi's smile to be one of the most powerful weapons in the world. One of her serene smiles directed at anyone in Nerima was generally enough to stop any fight. And once again it had worked like a charm. Her frowns, however, were even more dangerous, but they were so rare that most considered them a myth. But that was mostly because everyone who had ever been on the receiving end of one of her disapproving frowns was too ashamed to talk about the experience; they knew that they probably deserved it.

Having had time to collect herself, everything that had happened that day hit the young girl with full force and she started to cry. Kasumi took the kid in her arms and gently pat her on the back. "There, there. Just let it all out. You'll feel much better afterwards."

Kasumi's calming tone didn't miss its intended purpose and after several minutes of soothing words the tears stopped flowing until the young girl was only sobbing. Kasumi kneeled down and looked into her sad eyes. "Now, why don't you tell us your name? I am Kasumi Tendo and this is Ranma Saotome."

Ranma winked at the girl and she gave him a small smile. "I… I am Rydia, and I live in this village. I'm 12 years old."

'_Cute_' was the first thought that came to Ranma's mind. _'She'll break many a boy's heart once she's older'_. His smile disappeared from his face as he thought about the traumatic experience that the poor girl had just gone through. _'Bastards! How could they do something like that to this poor child'?_

"Well, Rydia, that's a very pretty name," Kasumi smiled at her. "Why don't you tell us what happened? And maybe you could give us more information about that giant we saw?"

Rydia hesitated at first, but these strangers hadn't given her any reason to distrust them. She knew in her heart that she could trust them; and they had saved her life after all. If they were evil people they would have let the soldiers kill her. Deciding to follow her heart she answered with a timid nod, still a little bit intimidated by the pair. "His name is Titan. His kind is known under many different names: 'call', 'summon', 'guardian force', 'esper', and some more I don't remember. They live in a different dimension, but the people from my village can summon them when we need their help. Almost everyone in the village has that ability. Titan is my personal guardian. Every time a new summoner is born one of the summons automatically becomes its guardian. Titan is mine, like the Mist Dragon was my mother's."

She had to pause for a bit after mentioning her mother. It still hurt so much to think about what had happened to her, and it probably would for a very long time. However, she decided to dismiss those depressing thoughts for the moment; she'd grieve at a later time, when she was far away from the soldiers and could safely do so. And telling Ranma and Kasumi about her magic would distract her from her sorrow. "It's a miracle I was even able to summon him. I shouldn't have enough mana to do that."

Both Nerimans were patiently listening to the young girl's tale, and although there was a lot he didn't understand, Ranma imagined his rivals' reactions if he used Titan in a fight against them. Boy, would they crap their pants. He's never before heard of 'mana' and wondered what it was.

"What is mana?" The pigtailed boy asked and Kasumi nodded; she had never heard that word before either.

Rydia blinked. She had never met people who didn't know what mana was, but then she had to admit that she hadn't met many foreigners in her life. Her parents rarely let her leave the village alone and she'd never been further than to Damcyan Castle. So, as far as she knew, there might have been countries without magic users. She just shrugged and explained what she knew. "Mana is a kind of energy that flows through our bodies and allows us to use magic. People with large mana reserves can use more spells or a higher level of spells than people with small mana reserves."

She looked the two strange people with suspicion in her eyes. "How come you have never heard of mana?"

"Well, we're not really from around here, you know," Ranma chuckled nervously. "And that's putting it lightly," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" The green haired girl inquired.

"What Ranma is trying to say is that we're from another world or another dimension," Kasumi intervened.

"SERIOUSLY?" Rydia shouted in surprise.

The brunette nodded. "I think it would be best to explain how we got here and why we're so interested in these summons. We met one of them an hour ago."

This excited the greenette even more. "Really? Which one of them?"

"He called himself Ifrit," Kasumi answered. "And it's because of him that we got stranded here."

"I know him and have even met him a few times, but I don't have a summoning contract with him yet, but some of the other villagers did though. I know that he is very proud and hotheaded."

"I noticed," Ranma grumbled.

"How did you meet him?" Rydia wanted to know. "And what does he have to do with you being here?"

"EVERYTHING!" Ranma shouted in anger, frightening the young girl.

"RANMA! Calm down!" Kasumi ordered and Ranma complied immediately. "She then turned back to Rydia. "Don't mind him. He's a little bit stressed out at the moment. He's usually a veryy nice person." Then she sighed. "A very annoying man named Happosai had a summoning scroll. I don't know where he got it from, but he used it to summon Ifrit. Well, Ifrit was not amused and took offense at being ordered around by a person who didn't have a valid contract. He killed Happosai and disappeared in a portal. Unfortunately, the portal created a powerful vortex that sucked us in. We lost consciousness I think, and when we came to we were outside this village. And we have no idea how we can get back hope. Maybe one of the summons could help us."

Rydia didn't know what to make of this story. That was the first time she ever heard of a summoning scroll, or that a summoner was killed by a summon. As far as she knew summoning couldn't be learned. You were born with the gift. "I understand. I would gladly ask Titan, but unfortunately I don't have the mana to summon him. I don't even know how I was able to summon him when I was attacked by those two evil men. And Chocobo, my other summon, doesn't speak. "

"Don't you have an idea who could help us get home, Rydia?" Ranma asked.

The young girl though about it and shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't know anyone." She thought about it some more and then an idea came to her. "Well, I don't know anyone personally, but maybe you could travel to Mysidia and ask the people there. The magical academy and the magical library are both situated in Mysida, and there's probably no other place where you can learn more about magic. Unfortunately I don't know where it is or how to get there. All I can tell you is that you'll have to cross the ocean to get there."

"Is there a town around here where we could ask?" Kasumi inquired.

"Yes there is," Rydia confirmed. "The desert town of Kaipo."

"Well then, let's go!" Ranma vigorously raised his fist as he tried to lighten the mood and keep his companions from worrying too much.

"Me… me too?" Rydia timidly asked.

"Well, of course," Kasumi huffed. How could the child even ask. "We can't leave you here all alone. What if the soldiers come back to finish the job? And what kind of monsters would we be if we abandoned a child. No, you're coming with us. We'll take you to your nearest relatives. Don't worry. Ranma is very strong. He'll make sure that nothing happens to us."

"But... But I don't have any family left that could take me in. Everyone I knew lived here. I'm sorry to be a burden," she apologized and the tears started to flow.

Kasumi kneeled and hugged the girl. "I'm so sorry. No one should have to suffer that much. And you're not a burden. We'd be glad to have you with us. Any place is better than here and it's always more pleasant and safe to travel in a group. Ranma, you agree with me, don't you?"

"Absolutely. Of course you'll come with us. We won't abandon you."

Rydia was relieved. She looked at the destroyed village one last time, prayed for the souls of the departed, and left with Ranma and Kasumi.

Ranma had considered giving the poor villagers a proper burial, but Kasumi disagreed. The pigtailed listened to her arguments and had to admit that she was right. It was more important to get Rydia to safety in case the assassins returned to finish the job. And they didn't want to put an innocent little girl in danger.

On the way to Kaipo the trio was exchanging information about their respective worlds, and while Rydia was very interested in the technological wonders that existed on Earth the Nerimans wanted to learn more about magic.

To Ranma magic sounded a lot like ki. Just like ki it flows through the body and can be used for various purposes. And if it really was similar he had no doubt he could master it real fast. He may have had some bad experiences with various magical and cursed artifacts, but he was never one to refuse learning new techniques that could give him the edge in a fight.

"Magic really seems to have a lot of importance in this world," Kasumi mused. "It's very rare where we come from and I've never met a real mage before."

"Oh yes, it is," the greenette confirmed. "Magic is used all the time and almost everyone can use at least a little bit of it. But most people aren't either very talented or they don't have the patience and determination, or are too lazy to put some serious effort into improving their talents. You see, learning and mastering magic takes a lot of time, and only few mages learn more than the most basic spells. And there are also the people who might become great mages but prefer the fighting arts to the arcane arts."

Ranma's eyes lit up at once after hearing that. Fighters meant new techniques to learn. He couldn't wait to meet some of them. Maybe this fiasco had some good points after all. But getting home was still his priority, although the opportunity to learn some new moves was a nice bonus. He was sure that all the fiancées, rivals, and other idiots were probably already missing their fiancé/cash cow/scapegoat and tearing down the neighborhood in search of Kasumi and him. Thinking about it he wondered why he did want to get home at all. Oh, right, there was Kasumi to consider, and he was not his father. He was not a coward who ran away from his responsibilities or ditched them on someone else. And maybe this new adventure far away from the usual nuisances would give him the much needed reprieve to come up with some ideas to solve his problems.

As they were walking through the grassy plain Rydia opened up some more and regaled her travel companions with stories about life in the village and magic. Ranma and Kasumi were very attentive listeners and really fascinated by the subject. After hearing more about the magic of this world Ranma's lingering doubts were completely set at rest. There were magical artifacts in this world too, but most of them had benign effects. They were so engrossed by the native girl's tales that they didn't notice the trap they were walking into until it was sprung. A large group of strange little demons jumped out of concealment and surrounded the trio.

Ranma, however, was experienced enough that his danger sense kicked in as soon as the creatures appeared. He immediately pushed both girls to the floor and took up a defensive stance. "Stay down! We're under attack!"

The young martial artist was quite surprised when he saw what their attackers looked like since he had never seen creatures like those. The trio was surrounded by about 14-15 very short, two legged humanoid things wearing green colored smurf hats, at least that's what they reminded him of, green shirts, and brown trousers. All of them were wielding curved daggers. However, the two things that stood out most about them were their very long noses and elfin ears that poked through holes in their hats. He had no idea what they were, but unfortunately for the poor Goblins he mistook them for demons. They didn't look like much, but the martial artist knew from experience not to judge a book by its cover as Happosai and Cologne had the habit of proving on a regular basis; and this was especially true with demons.

He didn't know much about the infernal beings, but he had met some supernatural creatures during his stay with the Tendos, albeit most of them had been rather harmless and mostly mischievous. He'd never had to deal with real demons before, but he had met demon hunters on his training journey and so he knew that they really existed… and that they were very dangerous. And the malice that showed in the beady eyes of the creatures in front of him was all the proof he needed to confirm the veracity of the stories he'd heard. These weren't his rivals looking for a friendly (or not so friendly) spar, but deadly enemies that killed without remorse and wouldn't stop until their bloodlust had been satiated. He knew that there would probably be no quarter asked or given. He would have to kill them if he wanted to protect the girls.

"Looka here, boys," one of the creatures said. "Dinner is served. And they look really tasty…. Especially the girls. Probably very tender too. It's been what? Two weeks since we last had some human flesh; and the meat was rather stringy too. Now these on the other hand… mmmm, delicious."

While the demons were openly drooling and joking, sure of their numerical superiority Ranma had not been idle; before the enemies could react he was already on them and had hit one of the denizens of Hell with a full strength punch to the face, tearing the head off and killing the creature on the spot. This surprised the pigtailed fighter as demons were supposed to be notoriously hard to kill and very resilient. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth he jumped with a flying kick at another one of the creatures, favoring speed over power since he knew now how week they were. The creature had been just as surprised as the rest of them and didn't even have the time to protect itself, not expecting such a quick reaction from their prey. The kick wouldn't even have fazed Ryoga, but these little critters definitely didn't have the Lost Boy's toughness and it was sent flying into a tree at full velocity and wouldn't be getting up.

Rydia had also attacked in the meantime, proving that she knew a thing or two about fighting and if the three frozen creatures were any indication, she was really good with magic.

Ranma and Rydia managed to kill two more demons each before the critters managed to mount even a semblance of defense, Ranma with his fists and Rydia with a lightning spell. Only 8 of the creatures remained, and they were obviously not very happy campers if their angry snarls were any indication.

"They are weak for demons, don't you think?" Ranma asked his young companion.

"Those aren't demons," the greenette explained, "but Goblins. Very nasty creatures that love to kill and have a taste for human flesh, but they are only really dangerous in groups."

"I see. Well, let's finish them off. I have no plans to end up in anyone's cooking pot today."

And before Rydia had time to answer he was off again and had kicked one of the now named creatures sideways in the head, and if the cracking noise was any indication, also broken its neck. But the other Goblins had recovered enough to launch an attack of their own. Two of them went for Rydia, who was protecting Kasumi, while three others attacked Ranma simultaneously.

Rydia just had time enough for one more spell before the two remaining Goblins were on her and Kasumi. She blasted the one in front of her with a lightning bolt, but couldn't prevent the other one from attacking the defenseless brunette. The frightened ponytailed girl looked at the ugly creature in shock, but just before the blade connected she subconsciously evaded the deadly blow by a hair's breadth and retaliated with a punch to the monster's long nose. If the cracking noise and the now bent nose weren't signs enough, the loud curses and shouts of pain coming from the creature proved without a doubt that the blow must have hurt a lot.

The monster ran away all the while insulting Kasumi for disfiguring him. It didn't get far however since an ice spell quickly ended its life and its pain at the same time. Kasumi was the first one surprised by her actions. She had thought that her martial arts reflexes had left her a long time ago, ever since she had stopped practicing the family art. She hadn't been a very diligent student, but her father had insisted that all of his daughters learnt at least enough to protect themselves successfully. And she was happy to see that her hard work had not been in vain.

Ranma couldn't believe his eyes. He had witnessed the whole action and was really impressed by the brunette. She wasn't on Akane's level of course, but the precise and well placed attack, without using too much force, showed him that she could become a very good martial artist.

But he had his own enemies to take care of and couldn't let himself get distracted too much. A fighter who lost his focus in a battle was as good as dead. But it was obvious that the gentle girl had at least learned more than just basic martial arts and knew how to protect herself. A novice couldn't have used such an advanced attack.

Concentrating fully on the fight once again, even if he didn't really need it against such pathetic monsters, he had no trouble evading all of their attacks. But he granted them extra point for their tenacity. They attacked him relentlessly from all sides and he even had to block some punches, but their blows were so weak he barely felt them. He grabbed one of them by its throat and crushed its windpipe before throwing the lifeless body to the floor. However, this moment of inattention was what the Goblin that had stayed out of the attack had been waiting for. The pigtailed boy heard one of the creatures shout "GOBLIN PUNCH!" before his as the only thing the pigtailed boy heard before his body was subjected to several hundred punches. The blows barely stung since he was used to much more powerful attacks, but the surprise attack distracted him enough for a knife strike to penetrate his defenses and stab him in the leg.

Ranma cried out in pain, but the wound wasn't serious enough to take him out of the fight, and before the Goblin could finish the job the martial artist's retaliatory punch squished it like a bug. With its death only one enemy remained as the one who used the special attack had been fried with a lightning bolt in the meantime. The martial artist saw the fear in the creature's eyes but he didn't show any mercy. Barely slowed by the knife wound he grabbed the monster with both hands and broke it like a twig.

Ranma thought back to the fight and his actions. He had killed the goblins without remorse even after he was told that he wasn't fighting demons. And he felt no remorse. The monsters had had every intention of killing them and he acted in self defense. He knew that he wouldn't have forgiven himself if the girls had come to harm because of moral dilemmas. He knew through his conversations with Rydia that this was a cruel and merciless world with a kill or be killed mentality. But the people didn't have a choice if they wanted to avoid being overrun by the vicious monsters that roamed the world. And when he saw the young summoner fight he realized that she had been in battles before… and had killed if her lack of remorse was any indication. He had killed before, of course. But when he had been on the road with his father and they didn't have anything to eat, he had been forced more than once to hunt for food. And if he rationalized this fight he knew that he had done the right thing. With this group dead there would be less people killed.

Meanwhile, Rydia had joined him and cast a cure spell to heal the wound much to Ranma's and Kasumi's surprise. Especially Kasumi was entranced by the white spell and hoped that she could learn it too. That would really be a very useful skill to have back home and much cheaper than the huge quantity of bandages and band aids she needed to buy regularly to treat Ranma's frequent injuries. The pigtailed boy on the other hand was more interested in the versatility of magic; it could be used to attack, heal, and even summon monsters… and maybe even to cure his curse? He'd have to ask in Mysidia.

"WOW! That was great, Rydia," Ranma praised the young girl. "I'm very impressed. You are really strong. And your healing spell is really neat. I could have used someone like you after some of the fights I had."

"It was nothing," she humbly dismissed the praise, but her blushing face told another story. After all, Cure was such a simple spell and she had never been praised for something so basic, except by her mother when she had cast her first spell.

He then turned to Kasumi and stared at her like she was an interesting exhibit in a museum, much to the elder girl's discomfort. Fearing some form of rebuttal she was surprised to see him grin at her. "You really surprised me there, Kasumi. That was an excellently executed evasive action and punch. Where did you learn that?"

Kasumi looked down at her feet, finding the view very interesting. "I guess those were the last remnants from my father's martial arts lessons. Before my mother died my father trained the three of us. I was never as enthusiastic as Akane, but father insisted that all of us had to be at least good enough to protect ourselves from muggers and even martial artists. After my mother died I had other obligations, and since father didn't care any longer I stopped practicing altogether.

"Well, I think you did great. And I hope you'll start practicing again. This fight showed me that I can't protect you all the time, although I'll still do my best. And if you apply yourself you can easily surpass your sister. It's sad but it's the truth.

Kasumi shook her head. Ranma must have been joking. There's no way she could reach Akane's level, or at least not anytime soon.

While the two recent arrivals into this world were talking Rydia had sneaked away to go through the Goblins' pockets and to check the bushes around them. When the Nerimans noticed Rydia's absence they started panicking, but calmed down when they saw what the summoner was doing. "What are you doing?" Ranma asked, outraged by the girl's actions.

"Huh?" She asked confused, not understanding why the pigtailed boy would reprimand her.

"Stealing from the dead is not a very honorable action," Kasumi explained.

"Ah, I understand what you mean. But they are dead. They don't need the money, but we do. We need to buy a lot of things in town. Everyone does it. My mama used to say 'to the victor belong the spoils'. And they'd have done the same thing after killing us."

Ranma couldn't deny the veracity of that statement. They had nothing to their name but the clothes they were wearing, and since looting the dead didn't seem to faze Rydia at all, he realized once again how truly different this world was from his own.

"YES!" Rydia enthusiastically shouted. "Look what I've found?" She ran over to her new traveling companions and showed them the item. The thing looked rather unimpressive, but then, they didn't know much about this strange and unpredictable new world any the unidentified object might be more precious than they thought. It resembled an ofuda, but had the word 'tent' inscribed on its surface.

"What is it, Rydia?" Kasumi wanted to know.

"You don't have things like these in your world?" She asked and was surprised when they answered in the negative, but then she remembered that they had told her that magic was not very common in their world. "This is a magical seal. These seals are used to magically store large and cumbersome objects, and to make them easier to transport. Additionally the weight is reduced to almost nothing. This particular one contains a magical tent. The tents are vital to any group of adventurers since they increase the mana recovery rate and speed up the healing rate of injuries. If we use one of these our magic reserves replenish and our wounds heal at much faster pace than if we simply slept on the ground. They aren't very expensive, but we need to save as much money as possible if we want to survive. Oh, and take these." She handed both Kasumi and Ranma a dagger "I know they are low quality and rusty, but those were the only weapons I could find. If you have no use for them or prefer a different kind of weapon you can buy some in Kaipo. Their weapons shop has a rather large selection and you will probably find something you like"

"I don't need a weapon. As you can see I easily defeated those Goblin creatures without. My fists are my weapons."

"The Goblins are probably the weakest monsters that exist. They are only dangerous in groups. But what if we meet monsters with diamond hard skin, magical armor or that are poisonous to the touch. They can only be killed with magic or magical weapons. Every adventurer uses weapons or keeps them just in case."

Ranma and Kasumi nodded and Ranma once again saw the wisdom in the young girl's words. Once again he was reminded that they were not in Nerima and that the usual rules didn't apply. And in this hostile environment he'd better use every tool at his disposal to increase their chance of survival until they found a way home. Ranma had not much experience with daggers, but it was a versatile weapon and he was sure he could develop some dagger specific katas. It wasn't all that different from a combat knife, and even if Anything Goes relied mainly on unarmed combat Genma had at least given the pigtailed boy rudimentary training in all kinds of weapons. He'd get rid of the dagger as soon as he found a weapon he was comfortable with.

"I've also found some money. It's not a fortune but we can probably afford some protective equipment and better weapons for you. There were also some various potions and other useful items in their backpacks that might come in handy. But we should hurry up. At our current speed we'll need four more hours to arrive and I want to be in a safe place before it gets too dark and the more dangerous monsters come out."

Both Nerimans diligently followed the young girl. Ranma was reluctant at first since he was the better fighter and it should have been up to him to lead the group, but he was impressed by the girl's determination and adult behavior. But then, living in a world where you had to live in constant fear of becoming the next snack of a gigantic monster probably made the kids probably mature faster. Just as admirable was the fact that she hadn't become an emotional wreck after her mother's death, but had decided to make the murderers pay. Vengefulness and hate were not feelings Ranma would consider as healthy, but he was sure that with time the young girl would calm down a bit; and it was at least better than moping and turning into an emotional wreck, like Mr. Tendo had done after his wife's death. He pitied the young girl; he still had his two parents, and although they'd never win the parent of the year award he loved them nonetheless. Rydia was all alone in the world now. Except for Kasumi and him she had no one and it was Ranma's firm intention to protect her to the best of his abilities.

The pigtailed boy wasn't vengeful by nature but he completely agreed with Rydia; Baron needed to be stopped. But that was not his fight. His goal was to find a way home for both Kasumi's and his sake. He wouldn't be looking for trouble and let someone else play the hero for a change, but the problem was that trouble always seemed to find him. He had already suffered so many hardships in his short life, and how was he supposed to solve other people's problems if he wasn't even able to solve his own. But he knew that those were idle words and that he would help if he saw people in trouble.

Then he thought about Kasumi again and was still surprised by how well the brunette was taking all of this. He'd really expected her to go to pieces and be homesick from the get go, but she was holding up and even seemed to enjoy herself. He looked over to the girl, who was having a lively conversation with Rydia, and was perplexed to see the happiness she was radiating. He had never seen her so 'alive' in all the time he'd known her, except when she was listening to his stories. It was easy to see that she was obviously enjoying the adventure. She even giggled from time to time, something he'd rarely seen her do before.

Well, maybe they could explore the world for a bit. After all, they weren't really in a hurry and it would take some time for them to get home anyway. The only drawback was that their families were probably very worried or might even think they were dead. But with no swift means to return home there was nothing they could do anyway. Well, the pigtailed boy decided to stop worrying about it and enjoy his newfound freedom for a bit. Nerima would still be standing when they returned, or so he hoped.

The plains were slowly giving way to the desert as the lush vegetation receded to make way for plants that were better adapted to an arid climate. Just then the party stumbled upon a group of seven large monsters; two Desert Sahagin, three Flying Eyes and two Hundlegs. The Desert Sahagin is a red skinned, over two meter tall 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' lookalike. The Flying Eyes is a one meter fifty large butterfly with a wingspan of about two meters and has a very long proboscis, but what immediately catches the eye however are the large spots on the top part of each of its wings. Finally, the Hundlegs is a three meter long, brown-green centipede. The creatures hadn't seen them arrive, and in order to avoid an unnecessary and probably useless battle the trio tried to sneak past them. Unfortunately, Rydia stumbled over a stone and the noise had been loud enough to alert them of the party's presence. The monsters immediately turned around to check out the disturbance and attacked as soon as they had identified the intruders. Rydia had had just enough time to ready a spell. Ranma, dagger in hand, stood protectively in front of Kasumi. The monsters blindly launched a straight forward attack, not bothering with tactics.

Rydia's lightning bolt fried one of the butterflies and Ranma eviscerated one of the centipedes with his dagger. Before the remaining monsters reached them, Ranma had grabbed both girls and jumped over the incoming stampede. While still in the air he kicked one of the humanoid monsters in the neck with enough power to strike it down. After he had landed again he put both girls behind him and attacked once again. The monsters didn't even have time to turn around before there was a loud shriek and the second centipede fell down dead due to a well placed dagger strike in the belly. Unfortunately, the monsters were faster than Ranma had expected and, while he was still pulling his weapon out of the centipede, the remaining three monsters had almost reached Kasumi and Rydia, who they had identified as the weaker targets.

Ranma pursued the monsters, but realized that he wouldn't be fast enough to keep them away from the girls. And indeed, the beasts had reached the girls just as the pigtailed boy was catching up to them. Rydia didn't lose her cool and killed the remaining butterfly with an ice blast while the other two creatures attacked Kasumi. The brunette successfully blocked the butterfly's bite with her weapon, but unfortunately, this left her flank wide open, giving the Desert Sahagin a free shot. When Ranma saw this he got really desperate and jumped over the Sahagin's head, taking the blow that had been aimed at the older girl. The creature's claws were strong enough to leave some very deep gashes in the martial artist's back. The deep wound was bleeding abundantly and, knowing that he would lose consciousness soon due to excessive blood loss, the martial artist pulled all stops and bisected his attacker with a Kijin Raishuu Dan. Just as his eyes closed he saw Rydia's ice spell kill the last Flying Eyes.

As the summoner was about to run over to Ranma and Kasumi to heal the pigtailed boy, she saw a crying Kasumi cradling the teenager in her arms. "This is my fault," she cried. "If only I'd been stronger this wouldn't have happened. I guess the people are right. I really am only good for housework. If only I could heal people like Rydia; at least I would be good for something."

As Kasumi was bawling her eyes out she didn't notice that the hand she used to stem the blood flow with was glowing in a soothing white light and that Ranma's wound was rapidly closing up.

Rydia's eyes opened wide when she saw Kasumi heal Ranma and got very excited. "Look! Your right hand!" She shouted enthusiastically.

The startled girl did as she was told and was quite surprised when she noticed the halo of light encasing her hand slowly die out. When she removed her hand she only found pristine skin where the wound used to be. "What…? How…? I don't understand," she stammered.

"You just used magic, silly." The greenette enthusiastically shook Kasumi's hand. "Congratulations. You are a white mage."

Kasumi's tears dried up and were replaced by a radiant grin. Maybe she wasn't useless after all. Maybe she could finally be of some help to Ranma and not just a useless accessory or the victim of the week. Her younger sister already filled that last role well enough, she bitterly reflected. She really loved her sisters, but was exasperated by Nabiki's mercenary tendencies and Akane's temper tantrums. Maybe now was her time to shine and find her own place in the world… and she liked it. She vowed that things would change once she got home. She would assert herself and no longer accept the ungrateful role of a housekeeper she had taken on after her mother's death. Maybe she could continue her studies and even become a doctor. She'd always liked medicine and it might even give her the opportunity to use her newfound magical talent to help people and maybe even change the world for the better. But she was getting ahead of herself. First she needed to learn to control her new powers. Before she could get up Ranma had hugged and congratulated her too.

"You did it, Kasumi. You used magic." Doing some katas with his previously injured leg he was pleasantly surprised by the lack of pain. "It doesn't even hurt anymore. Thank you."

This meant a lot to the ponytailed girl as Ranma rarely praised anyone. In fact she was surprised by his complete lack of jealousy Ranma exhibited. More than once she had heard the martial artist's jealous and angry rants after having been defeated by a new move. But so far he had always won the rematch.

Ranma himself was a little surprised that he didn't feel even a little bit jealous, but then Kasumi deserved it. It was good to see her happy, and the pigtailed boy was sure that he'd learn some magic too. And the girl was much too likeable to be jealous of; and he liked to see her happy.

The brunette had so many questions and didn't give the summoner the chance to answer even one of them before she assaulted her with the next. "Rydia, do you think I might learn more spells? Maybe even some of the attack spells you used? And what about Ranma? Can he learn magic too? Oooh, I'm so excited. I want to learn more."

Kasumi was acting like a kid on a sugar high much to Ranma's surprise. This was a side of Kasumi he had never seen before, and he wondered if this carefree version of the eldest Tendo daughter was in fact the real Kasumi. Ever since he had started telling her about his adventures whenever they had been alone in the kitchen he had noticed that she couldn't maintain her _'yamato nadeshiko'_ mask all of the time, but that from time to time her real self manifested itself. He had to admit that he really liked this carefree version. He had always thought that the older girl had resigned herself to live the boring life of a housekeeper, but it seemed like he had been wrong. Seeing her like that he finally understood how unhappy and hopeless she must have been, a thing the both of them had in common. Ho vowed then and there that he would do anything in his power to make sure that Kasumi would never again have to give up her freedom.

Rydia had to laugh at the older girl's enthusiasm. "Calm down; calm down. Cure is the first and easiest spell a white mage learns, so you'll probably learn some more very soon. I'm more surprised that you managed to cast a spell without any previous instruction. You must be a natural. But I don't know if you'll be able to use black magic. Everyone is different. White magic is probably your primary magical specialization. And I don't see why Ranma shouldn't be able to learn magic too. But we should continue on our way. If you like I'll tell you more while we're walking. Oh, and before I forget, there's one monster we should avoid at all costs: the sand worm. It's the toughest creature in the desert and without some proper protective gear and decent weapons it will be very difficult to kill. My advice is to run away as soon as we see one."

Both Nerimans nodded their heads. Running away was something Ranma abhorred, but Rydia knew the region better than he did, and he would be a fool to disregard her point of view. And then there was Kasumi. The girl was courageous, no doubt about it, and even if she knew some magic now she was no fighter. His first priority was to protect the girls, and if that included running away from a fight, so be it.

As they resumed their trip to Kaipo they were attacked by a few more groups of monsters, but the poor creatures didn't stand a chance against the trio who had slowly learnt to work together as a cohesive team and were now successfully protecting each other's backs. Ranma and Kasumi had also seen Chocobo in action, the only summon Rydia could control at the moment. Chocobos are big birds and the primary mounts in Rydia's world. And their claws pack quite a wallop if the shredded monsters were any indication, but then the summon was not your standard Chocobo.

They also found some more items in the vicinity of the monsters; objects that had probably belonged to some unfortunate travelers who had either been killed or had run away in a panic. Their stash of useful and salable items had now grown to a decent size with a nice assortment of various potions, two tent seals, a few rusty daggers and, much to Rydia's joy, a Goblin stone which granted her the ability to summon a Goblin. Not the strongest summon by far, but strong enough to kill weak monsters. The best part was it didn't require much mana to summon and that the young summoner could easily control it.

They had also encountered one of the infamous sand worms and even Ranma had been intimidated by the monstrous sight. The sand worm is a four to five meter long green worm with ugly purple protrusions growing from its body. However, the most frightening feature of the monster is the large, intimidating maw filled with very long and very pointy teeth dripping saliva. Rydia's description really hadn't done it justice. Ranma knew that the summoner had told him to run away, but he had to try at least one attack before he did so. No one was invulnerable and that was also true for monsters. The pigtailed boy attacked it with a swift attack, but the dagger broke on contact, and his punches were just as ineffective as the rubbery skin absorbed the impact force completely. Noticing Kasumi's panicked look the teenager decided to swallow his pride and he did the sensible thing. He followed Rydia's advice, grabbed both girls and ran away. But he vowed that once he had a good weapon the creature would bite the dust. He ran for a while and after making sure that they'd shaken off the worm he put the girls down and they resumed their journey to Kaipo.

"That was a close one." The martial artist remarked. "I wonder what that thing is made of. I had the impression I was punching a rubber tire. You were right, Rydia. I need a weapon. We all do. And once in town I'll try and find something more durable than these crappy daggers."

The rest of the journey was rather uneventful if one does not take the occasional ambush into account. Thankfully, they hadn't been attacked by another sand worm. They were relieved when they saw the town in the distance: Ranma, because he was hungry and wanted to fill his stomach, and Rydia and Kasumi because they were spent and out of mana. Kasumi had to use her heal spell a few more times after, and she was completely spent. While Rydia had enough mana to cast many, the brunette was not so lucky. The greenette reassured the older girl that it was just a matter of practice, but didn't mention that their recent fights already increased her mana capacity dramatically. She thought it would be a nice surprise to let the girl discover it for herself. If she had to take a guess she'd say that new white mage's reserves should have at least quadrupled.

When they saw the town in the distance they were relieved. The girls were panting heavily, but Ranma was proud of them. They hadn't complained even once, but Ranma was sure that it must have been a gruesome experience for them. He was used to hard training and harsh weather conditions, but the scorching desert heat must have been a very trying experience for the two girls. Rydia was still very young after all and Kasumi had probably never been in the desert before. Thank God they had found some watering holes along the road and some of the monsters had food on them or else the girls would have collapsed by now. He was sure of that.

When the group was but 500 meters away from Kaipo they were stopped by a group of six men wearing armor and pointing their swords at them. The man in front, obviously the leader, was wearing ornate green armor while the five men flanking him were wearing plain red.

"Halt! The leader ordered. "By order of His Majesty, the King of Baron, hand over the summoner! The summoners of Mist have been declared enemies of the crown and every last one of them is to be executed. Refusal to comply will be considered an act of treason and the offenders will suffer the same fate."

That didn't sit well with Ranma. Rydia was under his protection and he couldn't imagine the young girl having done anything to offend the king. Something smelled fishy, and Ranma was determined to find out the reason behind this genocide. Fighting and dying in a war was one thing, but destroying a peaceful and isolated village was another matter altogether. The king of Baron reminded him a lot of some of the worst dictators in his world, and especially Adolf Hitler, and he'd rather die than strike a deal with someone like that. No! Rydia was his friend and he'd do everything in his power to spare her from the fate that befell her fellow villagers.

"Forget it. I'll never hand her over. Haven't you done enough already? You've destroyed her whole village… and killed all of her loved ones without asking them to surrender or giving quarter. You are monsters, your king is an evil bastard, and I'll protect this innocent child from you with everything I got."

"How dare you insult His Majesty? His Majesty has his reasons and we do as we are told," the general answered. "His orders are clear and it's not up to us to question them. Since you won't hand her over willingly, and obviously rebel against the kingdom, we'll have to take her by force. You brought this upon yourselves and now you have to suffer the consequences. You are hereby declared enemies of the state and the sentence is death. MEN! ATTACK!"

The five soldiers complied, and in perfect military synchronization they attacked the most dangerous opponent. Ranma easily evaded all of their sword strikes and retaliated with punches and kicks that were hard enough to send them sprawling to the floor, but not hard enough to deal any permanent damage. They were humans after all, and he was reluctant to do any permanent damage. He had to admit that they'd been well trained and knew how to work well in a unit and how to use a sword, but they weren't fast enough to hit him. Even Kuno would probably manage to defeat a group of two or three of them in a duel.

Too tired to fight, Rydia and Kasumi were watching the one-sided battle and cheering for the martial artist.

The men were rapidly losing their cool. Their elusive, smirking target was playing with them. The taunts and scathing comments didn't help either. But then, making enemies lose their cool was one of Ranma's favorite strategies and he was damn good at it. An angry opponent is more likely to make mistakes than a cool and collected one. And once again it seemed to work like a charm. Unfortunately for the pigtailed martial artist he was used to the morons in Nerima and thus had miscalculated the soldiers' reaction.

Instead of letting his men attack blindly in hopes that a blow might connect, the general was experienced enough to see what the enemy was trying to accomplish and ordered his battered and heavily bruised soldiers back to discuss and develop a new strategy. Ranma was arrogantly waiting for them to finish since he was confident in his abilities to defeat them effortlessly. And as the six men attacked once again he was simply waiting with his arms crossed. But much to his shock the men didn't react as he had predicted. At first they all ran towards him, but shortly before they had reached his position they split up. Four were attacking him, but the other two were charging at Kasumi and Rydia with drawn swords, making their intentions all too clear. Thankfully, the young summoner was able to block the weakened soldier's strike with her rod and she retaliated immediately by jamming her weapon into his right eye, killing him on the spot. The brown haired girl on the other hand was not so lucky; the soldier blocked her clumsy dagger strike and drove his sword to the hilt through her belly. She dropped like a sack of potatoes.

"NOOOOO!!!" Ranma's anguished scream could probably be heard kilometers away. "You bastard! How could you attack a non combatant? What kinds of people are you?"

The attackers didn't show any remorse and the general simply shrugged. "We are soldiers of Baron," the general explained in a cold and detached tone. "We have our orders and we follow them. Any threat to the kingdom is to be eliminated."

That cold and inhuman statement was enough to drive the pigtailed boy into a berserker rage. Without thinking twice about it he slaughtered the four soldiers surrounding him in less than 5 seconds, leaving but shattered and bloody corpses behind.

While the general had been talking to Ranma, Rydia had snuck up to Kasumi's assassin who was about to pull his blade out of the body and knocked him down with a well placed blow to his cranium. She immediately took the brunette's wrist and was very relieved to feel a pulse; it was very weak, but steady. She quickly pulled the sword out of the bleeding wound and poured a hi-potion into Kasumi's mouth, saving the girl's life.

Ranma had been so lost in his anger and grief that he didn't notice the summoner's prompt action. The young girls punch hadn't been very hard and the soldiers recovered a few seconds later. But the blow had hurt him a lot. He rubbed the bump on his head and was clearly still out of it or he would have immediately focused back on the battle. When the martial artist noticed the movement next to Kasumi, his attention switched from the general to the grunt and his killer intent could be felt by everyone present. Kasumi's attacker was afraid and shaking in his pants. The coward asked for mercy, but it was too late for him to repent for his sins. "Moko Takabisha" was the last sound he heard in his life before he was consumed by the attack. Meanwhile, the general had run away, leaving his men to their fate.

Since the danger was gone he looked over to the girls, tears flowing in heavy streams down his cheeks. He looked at Kasumi and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that the young woman was slowly getting up. There was so much blood on the floor, and logically, the girl should have died. The tears of sorrow immediately changed into tears of joy and Ranma ran over to the girls and took Kasumi into his arms. He hugged her with an intensity that would make Shampoo jealous. "You're alive! You're alive!"

"I managed to save her," Rydia reassured the boy, as he let go and sagged to the floor in relief.

"Thank God," he whispered as the tears continued to flow.

He stood up and then it was the summoner's turn to be subjected to a hug. "Thank you for saving her life. I don't know what I would have done if she had died."

The greenette blushed fiercely, but hugged the pigtailed boy back. She had rarely felt so safe and protected in her whole life. This feeling increased when Kasumi embraced the two of them and it ended in a group hug. The three of them had one thought going through their minds, _'I could get used to this'_ as they were one step closer to healing their emotional wounds. Ranma, who had led a hard and traumatic life so far was finally learning what love and acceptance was; Kasumi, who had felt abandoned and lost ever since her mother had died could finally open up again and show her true feelings; Rydia, who had suffered a severe emotional trauma just a few hours earlier, felt like she was part of a loving family again.

But all too soon they let go of each other after this emotional rollercoaster and Ranma could reflect back to what had just happened. He had killed… in cold blood. He could have easily knocked them out, but in his rage he deliberately took their lives. He had wanted to hurt them for killing one of his most precious friends in the world. But much to his surprise it wasn't the taking of human lives that had shocked him, but his complete lack of remorse. He had killed and didn't feel sorry at all. They deserved it. They were inhuman and cold killing machines who didn't give a damn about the lives they were destroying. But they probably had families too. Their kids would grow up without a father. They had probably been following orders. But then, that was the argument most of the Nazi criminals used during the Nuremberg Trials after World War Two.

No, these men had hardly been innocent soldiers following orders. They had enjoyed their job; he had seen it in their eyes. They weren't emotionless killers. No, they clearly enjoyed killing if their manic grins were any indication. He had done the right thing. These men would never kill innocents again. He also thought back to Rydia's actions. Her attacker had suffered a gruesome fate and the young girl hadn't even bat an eye, like killing wasn't anything special. But was it because the soldiers had been sent by Baron or because killing in general didn't matter at all? Fact is that Rydia seemed to have supported the shock quite well. He had to admit that she really was a tough cookie.

And thinking back to the fight it had been his fault that Kasumi had been attacked at all. If he had taken the fight seriously from the beginning and not been so cocky no one would have been hurt but the soldiers. He had to constantly remind himself of the fact that he was not in Nerima any longer. Looking back to his fights back home he had to admit that a lot of problems could have been avoided if he hadn't been such an arrogant ass all of the time. He had to let go of that kind of attitude, if not for himself than at least for the sake of his traveling companions. In this unforgiving environment showing mercy could mean death. And he loved life too much to let himself get killed.

He would never become a coldblooded killer like these soldiers who had no regard for human life at all, but he wouldn't pull his punches any longer. And the same was true for Nerima. When he got back he'd deal with his problems, all of them; rivals as well as fiancées. He was so tired of all that crap, and if need be he'd go as far as taking away their ability to ever fight again. He deserved some happiness in life too.

While Ranma was thinking about his life in general he saw that Rydia was once again busy looting the bodies and seemed to have fun doing it. Well, the pigtailed boy was still feeling a bit uncomfortable stealing from the dead, but Rydia was right; they needed the loot, and he had to admit that so far the summoner had found some very interesting and useful items.

The soldiers hadn't been rich by any means, or at least didn't have much money on them, but the well crafted armor and sharp swords would probably fetch a good a price. Enough money to get some decent equipment, at least. Ranma switched his rusty dagger for one of the swords, and he nodded in approval after he had given a few practice swings. The blade was really well balanced, but he would still exchange the broadsword for a katana in a heartbeat.

After Rydia had finished Ranma called both girls over to him. "I'm sorry," He apologized. "If I hadn't been so cocky and arrogant and hadn't played with the soldiers all of this could have been avoided. It's entirely my fault and I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to prevent something like that from ever happening again. I give you my word that I'll protect you to the best of my abilities and I won't be showing mercy to inhuman scum like that. Your safety comes first. And if I have to kill to ensure that nothing happens to you, so be it. I care for the both of you and I couldn't handle losing even one of you. I don't know why, but it's the first time in my life, ever since I left home with my father, that I've felt so comfortable in the presence of other people. I know it sounds corny and mushy, but in my opinion that's what having a family must feel like."

The girls grinned at him. "We're feeling the same," they answered in almost complete unison and had another group hug.

Ranma was sweating up a storm since he was the pack horse of the group and had to carry the quite substantial loot they had 'liberated' from the dead soldiers and was very happy when they reached Kaipo a few minutes later.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Meanwhile, Cecil was in trouble. When the dark knight had come to after the earthquake Kain was gone and he couldn't find the dragoon everywhere. Hoping that his friend was safe he tried to go back to Baron, but discovered to his dismay that the entrance to the cave was completely blocked by rocks and dirt. Titan's earthquake attack must have caused the landslide. Since he couldn't clear the way into the cave and as the mountains were much to steep to climb over without some good equipment he had no other choice but to travel to Damcyan and try and find a ship that could take him to a port town near Baron. He had a report to deliver after all and he knew that the King was not a very patient man. Unfortunately, the previous fights had already been taxing and crossing the desert alone was not without its dangers and so he tried to avoid monster attacks as much as possible by sneaking past them. He was mostly successful, but it slowed down his traveling speed considerably. He still had to fight a few monsters here and here, but he hadn't too much trouble killing them. He was getting very tired, however. All that fighting had taxed his stamina and he had trouble keeping his eyes open.

"Damn monsters!" Cecil ranted as he carefully wiped his sword off with a piece cloth and kicked the Hundlegs' corpse in anger. "Lately, their numbers have been increasing and no one knows why. I hope that the problem will be dealt with soon. Ah well, there's not much I can do but grin and bare. Complaining doesn't help. I should stay focused on my mission and deliver this report as fast as possible."

He had just avoided a group of monsters when a group of soldiers approached. He recognized the unit and immediately relaxed. As he was preparing to greet them he was shocked when they drew their weapons.

Not understanding what would warrant such a hostile act he waited for an explanation, which was to come very soon.

"Cecil! Finally we've found you," the general said.

"Wait! What is the meaning of this? The king…" the dark knight tried to explain, but the general didn't give him the chance.

"I am here on the king's orders. You were to exterminate each and every summoner in the village, yet you let a little girl get away. That's insubordination and treason."

"What?" Cecil incredulously shouted. "You've been spying on us? Since when?"

"Of course we have. Suspected traitors can't be trusted after all. We've been following you ever since you left the castle. And sparing the girl was completely useless. As we talk our comrades should already have dealt with her. Not finishing her off was the confirmation Seneschal Baigan and His Majesty needed. Our orders are to kill you if you should betray the kingdom. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but orders are orders. MEN! KILL HIM!"

Thankfully Cecil's instructors had been the best the kingdom had to offer and he had been learning all the ins and outs of the soldiering business from them ever since he was little. He may have been exhausted but he was an elite soldier and very skilled with the sword. Still, three against one was unfair, but when the general saw that his men were unable to defeat the young man he entered the fray. Too bad for him, his soldiers had already been killed by the time he reached Cecil. But the dark knight had clearly reached his limits and was heavily panting. The general was so confident in his physical superiority over the exhausted soldier that he completely forgot to take to take Cecil's determination into account. Cecil knew he couldn't afford to lose here. He had to get back to his love whatever may come, even if they might not have a happy future together. The kingdom could go and screw itself. He had served the king loyally for all those years, but ever since Baigan had become the king's his right-hand man things had been changing… and for the worse. The king who'd never have attacked another kingdom before had become bloodthirsty and cruel. Gone were the peaceful times and Cecil had trouble recognizing the man he had sworn his loyalty to. There was definitely something wrong with the kingdom and he intended to find out what; well, after he had dealt with the current crisis of course. He decided to take a very risky and potentially deadly gamble since he had barely enough energy for one last action and would pass out very soon. He feigned letting down his guard, leaving an easy opening for his opponent to exploit, and just moments before the blow would connect he sidestepped it and swiftly decapitated his opponent with a quick strike. The dark knight fell to his knees as he tried to recover his breath. This last action had taken the rest out of him and he barely had enough energy left to crawl over to his backpack and take out a tent seal. With his last ounce of energy he activated the seal and climbed into the tent, falling asleep a few moments later.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Kaipo was unlike any town that Kasumi and Ranma had seen before. For a desert town it didn't really resemble the oases shown on TV, but looked more like the typical medieval European town; the kind you can see in historic or fantasy films or role-playing games like Dragon Quest. The most striking thing however was the extensive network of irrigation canals that were spread throughout the town and which distributed the water to the houses and actually reminded Ranma a little bit of Stormwind, a town in one of Daisuke's favorite RPGs, although Kaipo was much smaller and less crowded with a lot of space between the houses. Palm trees could be seen here and there and offered some very welcome shade to the exhausted travelers who were happy to get out of the hot sunrays. Rydia had been here a few times before and showed her new friends around. The town was much like most of the others in this world and had the obligatory weapons and armor shops, an item shop, an inn and the local branch of the Hunters Guild.

Their first stop was the weapons shop where they hoped to get rid of their loot for a good price and earn some much needed money. Good equipment didn't come cheap after all and in this violent world one should be prepared for every eventuality. Since neither Ranma nor Rydia had much experience with shopping they let Kasumi do all of the talking. Much to their surprise Kasumi did extremely well and it was easy to see that haggling was an art she was well versed in. But then, the ponytailed girl had never told anyone that she was a master of martial arts haggling, so the pigtailed boy's surprise could be excused. Ranma had always been very proud of how easy it was for him to swindle ice cream dealers out of an extra scoop in his girl from, but the brunette was putting his best efforts to shame. While 'Ranko' usually used her bodily charms to get what she wanted Kasumi was much more subtle and less direct. She charmed the salesman with witty banter and her usual serene attitude that he'd become putty in her hands. He probably would have sold his soul to her if she had asked. In the end the girl had managed to obtain a tidy sum for everything, even the crap, and while the shopkeeper was reluctant at first to buy the armor and swords since it was never good for one's health to run afoul of a powerful nation like Baron, but in the end Kasumi was able to convince him to accept the items.

Ranma mentally applauded and hoped that the young woman would agree to teach him. Now there was a non martial arts related skill that could be extremely useful. And if there was one thing Ranma loved more than food or a good fight it was learning useful new skills.

Deciding to make use of the still dazed state of the shopkeeper the group examined the selection on display, but they weren't impressed at all. The shop only sold some basic, non enchanted weapons, much to Rydia's disappointment who had hoped to find at least one or two uncommon or rare items, but it was not like there wouldn't be other occasions to find some better equipment, and the simple weapons were still of a better make than most of the stuff they got from their enemies.

Kasumi bought a staff and a bow. The staff was really the best weapon for a white mage since it boosted the effectiveness of white magic spells, much like the rod did for black magic spells, and Ranma promised to teach her some katas for it. The bow didn't really surprise Ranma since he knew that Kasumi had practiced kyudo at school and had even participated in the national high school championship once, but since she hadn't really practiced all that much after finishing high school she knew that was in for some heavy training if she wanted to get her old form back.

Rydia chose a simple but well-balanced dagger, but was a little bit disappointed when she couldn't find an upgrade for her old rod.

Ranma on the other hand had a different problem. He had met many weapons specialists on his long training journey and was trained by many of them. His father had insisted that he should learn at least the basics of armed combat, although Anything Goes was an unarmed martial arts school. Genma's reason was that an unarmed fighter needed to know the ins and outs of weapons if he wanted to be able to defend against them. After all, what better way to counter a weapon user than to use the weaknesses of his chosen weapon against him? Therefore he was proficient with many weapons but master of none. He looked around but nothing really appealed to him. One weapon especially seemed rather stupid: two swords connected by a chain. The name tag identified them as sword-chucks and he wondered what moron had the idea for such a stupid weapon. He shook his head at the stupidity of some people. His personal preference was fist weapons since they really complimented his fighting style. He had extensive experience with gauntlets, brass knuckles, tekko, or katars, but was disappointed that he couldn't find any among the available choices, not until his eyes fell on a claw which had a strong resemblance to the neko-te, a ninja weapon he knew very well in thanks to some training he got from a rogue shinobi he had met when he was younger, and he was confident that he could rapidly master this variation of the Japanese weapon. He took a pair and handed them to Kasumi who was waiting for him to finish. After another round of haggling and in the process getting a nice discount the group was off to the armor shop.

Thanks to Kasumi's bargaining talent they had a large sum left and could afford some protective gear. Rydia didn't expect to find any high class equipment if the weapons shop was an indication, but she was pleasantly surprised to see that the shop was well stocked and for both genders. Kasumi and Rydia bought robes and some spare sets of underwear, as well as leather caps and iron rings. Ranma got himself several boxer shorts and a few tee shirts but refused to by any armor since it would reduce his movement rate, but the girls convinced to wear at least a leather cap and an iron ring.

"Why don't we buy several rings?" The pigtailed boy asked the summoner. "If they work as well as advertised they could really boost our protection even more."

As Rydia was still thinking about how to answer the question, the shopkeeper was already explaining. "It doesn't work like that. The effects don't stack. So, wearing ten iron rings isn't any more effective than only wearing one. But it is possible to wear two differently enchanted rings, but only one on each hand. Anymore and the spells could backfire and seriously harm the wearer."

Ranma had had too many bad run-ins with magical items for him to dismiss a warning like that. After getting some more information about the different kinds of armor and magical accessories the group left and Rydia led the two otherworlders to the Hunters Guild.

"Let's register at the guild now," the green-haired girl suggested. "Afterwards we will stock up on potions and other items we might need."

"Here's the Hunters Guild I told you about," the young girl told her new friends when they had arrived in front of the large building. "Becoming hunters is the best way for us to earn money. Members are paid for every monster they kill. The stronger and more resilient the monster is, the better the reward will be. I've dreamed of becoming a member for several years, but my mother was against it, telling me all the time I was too young. But since she's gone now I'll have to rely on myself, and there isn't much I can do to earn money except for killing monsters. Traveling with you has been fun so far and I hope that we can stay together for a long time."

"You can stay with us as long as you want," Kasumi reassured the younger girl. "Oh, and could you tell us more about the guild before we decide?"

"No problem," Rydia answered. "The annual membership fee is very low and the guild only takes 5% of the reward money to pay for its services. We'll need all the money we can get if we want to reach Mysidia. We are lucky that the monsters in this part of the world aren't very strong. But I've heard of some regions where the monsters are much stronger and we wouldn't probably survive as we are now. Becoming a hunter is also a great way to get stronger. So, what do you say? Do we join?"

"What do you think, Ranma? The ponytailed girl asked. "It sounds like a good deal."

Ranma nodded. "Sure. Let's do it!"

Rydia had been appointed as the official spokesperson for the group since she knew the most about the guild and with her in the lead they entered the house. They were greeted by a nondescript, middle-aged man who was sitting behind a nice, wooden desk. "Welcome to the Hunters Guild. I am Garan and I'm in charge of this branch of the Guild. How can I help you?"

"Hello," Rydia answered very politely. "We'd like to apply for a membership, but we'd like to have more information before we do. I hope that won't be a problem."

"Not at all. I'll be glad to answer every question you might have. After all, that's part of my job. Fire away."

Ranma and Kasumi asked most of the questions, of course and indeed, Garan was able to answer them all and was more thorough than Rydia whose information had been spotty in parts, since most of it had come from books and hunters that had visited her village. In fact, she was quite surprised that there was so much she didn't know yet. The question and answer session lasted for about half an hour and it was quite enlightening. Monster hunting paid a lot better than manual labor and there were not that many people doing it. The main reason was the death rate for hunters, but Garan reassured them that the ones killed were generally overconfident or badly prepared loners. Hunters who were well equipped and prepared and especially those who traveled in groups had an excellent chance of survival.

"A hunter's most important weapons are experience and knowledge." Garan explained. "The only way to get the first one is through fighting, but the second one can be either obtained through fighting or the monster book." He then handed one to each of the applicants to give them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the 'Hunter's Best Friend' as it is often called. Rydia knew what it was of course, already having seen hunters use it, but she could refrain from giggling when she saw the surprised looks on Ranma's and Kasumi's faces when they realized what exactly the book was capable of. Kasumi in particular was astonished by the gadget which reminded her eerily of the Pokédex the trainers used in Pokémon, a videogame she used to play when she was younger.

"This magical monster book," Garan continued, "is the hunter's most prized tool and only fools don't keep it with them at all times. As you can see, this tome has quite extensive information on every monster ever encountered by hunters since the creation of the books. Another useful feature is its self-updating function. Every time a hunter learns new facts about a monster the information is automatically added to the monster's entry in every book in circulation. The book lists the average stats of the monsters, names and effects of their attacks, and keeps count of the number of monsters killed. The book is keyed into its owner's magical signature so that no one can steal or temper with it, and the owner is also the only person who can open it. Whenever a hunter dies, without any chance for resurrection, his book is automatically teleported back to the guild. Whenever a hunter turns his book in at a guild house, the guild will tally the kills and calculate the amount of money earned. It's an ingenuous and foolproof system."

"And what happens if a group of hunters kills a monster? Who is the kill credited to?" Kasumi wanted to know."

"I knew I'd forgotten something," Garan apologized. "Well splitting up a kill is impossible, of course. Now, I suppose that you'll travel and fight as a group, right?"

Seeing the trio nod he continued. "In that case you have to appoint a leader and get registered as a group. If you do that the leader's book will be the only one to list all of your kills. And whenever you come to a guild house the money will be split evenly between you. That's the best and fairest way we came up with to avoid having the frontline fighters get credited with all the kills while the healers don't get anything."

The party considered everything they'd heard and as they really couldn't find any downsides they immediately signed up and got registered as a group. They paid the membership fee and Garan handed each of them the basic hunter kit consisting of the magical book, which they had already received, a sturdy backpack and some simple wilderness survival tools.

They went to the potions shop and after buying a wide selection of potions, remedies, and herbs, and seeing that it was already quite late, they decided to call it a night.

They entered the inn and since they had more than enough money left they everyone got their own room.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Sometime later that evening Kasumi was brushing her hair before going to bed, when she heard a barely audible knock. Wondering who it could be at such a late hour she opened the door and was very surprised to see Ranma standing there, fidgeting a lot. It was quite obvious to the brunette that the pigtailed boy was feeling very uncomfortable about something.

"Ranma? Is there a problem?" She asked in a concerned tone, and was startled when the teenager flinched, but immediately started fidgeting again. "Why don't you come in and tell me what wrong?"

The boy nodded jerkily and followed Kasumi inside. The Tendo daughter was now really concerned. Ranma was usually very self-confident, and many would call him even arrogant, but he could back it up. No, seeing him in this state happened rarely, and then only if he wanted to be forgiven for having done something stupid. But Kasumi had no idea what he could have possibly done wrong. But she was determined to find out.

"Please take a seat," she told him, and he diligently accepted the offer and sat down in a chair.

Ranma didn't wait for the young girl to ask him questions, and after having collected himself he said, "I'm sorry."

Kasumi blinked... once… twice, but recovered her wits very quickly. "You're sorry? Whatever for?" She was genuinely intrigued now.

The pigtailed teen inhaled deeply before he explained. "It's my fault we got sent here. If I hadn't angered the old…"

Before he could finish the sentence Kasumi interrupted him sharply. "NO! Don't you ever say it's your fault! Yes, you're partly responsible, but so am I."

Ranma stared at her as if she had grown a second head, not believing her in the slightest, and before he could object she continued. "I know you. You want to take the blame once again, since that's what's usually expected from you by your and my family. But if you haven't noticed by now, I'm not Akane. I don't blame you for everything that goes wrong. And this time it's clearly partly my fault. I decided to stay and watch the fight instead of hiding inside the house with the others. If you hadn't tried to save me from being sucked into the portal you would probably have gotten away. If you want to put the blame on someone, put it on Happosai. It's his stupidity that started all this mess. And since we can't turn back the clock anyway, we should look ahead and try and find a way back home."

She paused for a while to catch her breath, before she continued. "And it's not like I haven't been enjoying our little adventure so far. I feel alive for the first time in years. In fact, I should thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in one of your famous adventures. And I don't plan to be the damsel in distress. I want to pull my weight and contribute to the team."

She smiled when she saw that her heartfelt speech had managed to calm Ranma down. In fact, the teenager was staring at Kasumi with his mouth wide open. It was obvious that he had expected her to scold him for his blunder and maybe even tell him to leave and that she never wanted to see him again. Kasumi shook her head sadly. She didn't think she would have survived even a fraction of all the crap Ranma had been put through during his long training journey. She was determined to help him in any way she could and to show him that there were still decent people in the world; and she didn't count the martial artist's usual entourage among them.

Ranma slowly got up and embraced the older teen. "Thank you, Kasumi. You can't imagine how much that means to me. I'm sure that now that we've cleared that matter I can rest easily. He wished the brunette a good night and left the room.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

The following day, after a good night's sleep and a copious breakfast they left the inn in search of someone who might be able to tell them how to get to Mysidia. They asked around, but no one could help them much. The most helpful piece of advice they got was to travel to Damcyan Castle and ask King Richard for help. The castle was built near the sea after all and had a small but busy port attached to it. It was mostly used by local fishermen, but merchant ships were a common sight too, since it was one of the very few ports on the continent and the nearest one to Kaipo.

After buying some food and water and checking that they had everything they needed they left the town in direction of the Underground Waterway, a tunnel that led straight to Damcyan. On their way they were attacked by another sand worm, much to Ranma's delight who wanted to try out his new claws. And what better opponent than the one whose brother or cousin caused him to run away from a fight the previous day. Being well rested and having had a very filling breakfast, not to mention decent weapons and equipment, the group was much more confident in their abilities to defeat the critter. Before the girls could take out their weapons Ranma was already attacking the huge creature, a confident smirk gracing his face.

Well, revenge wasn't the only thing on Ranma's mind. Having seen Ryoga often enough infuse his bandannas and belt with ki, as well as Kuno doing the same with his bokken, it was easy enough for the pigtailed boy to figure out the trick, theoretically at least. With all the crap he had to live through in Nerima lately he didn't have time to refine the technique yet, but this was an excellent opportunity to try it out using his new claws. He concentrated and let his ki flow from his arms into the claws, delighted that it seemed to work. He launched at the monster with his claws extended and shouted "Kachu Tenchu Amaguriken". The girls only saw a blur and two seconds later all that was left of the pesky creature was Swiss cheese.

The girls, as well as Ranma himself, were speechless. The young martial artist was staring at his hands. He hadn't expected his improvised attack to be that effective. But then, in his defense, it should be pointed out that he didn't know that the claw was a weapon specifically developed for the monks of Fabul, who were expert ki users, and therefore used those kind of attacks too. "WOW! That worked better than I expected. Did you see that?" He asked the girls who were staring at him in astonishment. They were really surprised that the monster which had been impervious to Ranma's best barehanded punches had been so easily skewered by Ranma's new attack.

"How did you do that?" The young girl was surprised. "That didn't look like a magical attack to me."

"That's a ki technique my rivals back home use quite a lot. It's very effective as you can see."

"I'll say," she answered in awe. "I've never heard of ki before. Do you think I could learn that?"

"Eh? Probably." He shrugged his shoulders. "But I must tell you it won't be easy and take a lot of practice and dedication before you reach that level. Years of practice in fact. But if you're really determined to learn it would be best to start with some basic exercises and work our way up. You'll see, we'll make a great hand-to-hand fighter out of you."

Her eyes lit up, much like Ranma's always did when a new technique was mentioned. "WOW! I could really learn how to fight like you. Teach me, please." She enthusiastically jumped up and down.

"Okay, okay." Ranma placated the greenette, but he had to laugh at seeing her eagerness and thought about the level Akane could achieve if she ever showed that much enthusiasm. Thinking about his fiancée immediately sobered him up. No, he was sure that the youngest Tendo would never become as good a martial artist as Shampoo or his rivals; she lacked their dedication to the art. Running a few laps every morning and breaking cinder blocks was barely enough to let her keep her current level. If she let go of her pride and jealousy and accepted her numerous shortcomings and limitations she could become a great martial artist, but at the moment that didn't seem likely. Rydia however remembered Ranma of his younger self; always eager to learn new techniques.

"And in exchange you could teach us more about magic. I want to learn more spells," Kasumi offered. The cure spell alone was a godsend and she could do a lot of good with it back home. She already imagined the look on Dr. Tofu's face once he saw her use magic. Boy, would he be surprised.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," she answered, sounding remorseful, before entering her 'teaching mode' as Ranma called it. "You see, there are two ways to learn magic: one theoretical, the other practical. Reading scrolls and books as well as study the mechanics of a spell is the safest, but also the slowest, most boring, and most time intensive one. Scholars generally know a lot about the workings of magic, but are generally rather weak. They might know a lot of powerful spells, but generally lack the mana to cast them efficiently. That is the most extreme example of course, since some of the most famous mages have been scholars. Generally, this method is chosen by people who are afraid to put their lives in danger or don't want to exhaust themselves through physical activity. They rarely come up with new spells, but are incredibly good at coming up with variations or more powerful versions of existing spells.

The other way is through practice. I think that Kasumi is a very good example of this, since she has never learnt how to use magic but cast a spell simply by willing her mana to do what she wanted. This had the additional effect to show us what school she has the best affinity for. The most important fact you have to remember is that practicing magic is a creative process; and yes, there are universal spells. A good example would be the simple 'cure' spell every white mage knows, but there are also more unique spells that are much rarer. Each experiences fighting mage knows some of those. Those spells are usually devised in times of great distress or mortal danger, when the brain is working at full capacity to find a way to overcome the crisis. The mage is about to die and doesn't know a spell that could help him survive. His mind might come up with a completely original spell that could even revolutionize magic as we know it, just so he can live to see another day.

This way has some additional advantages too. The more spells a mage casts, the faster his mana reserves grow. And a larger mana reservoir means more spells, in quantity as well as in power. Add to that the bounties for the dead monsters as well as getting stronger physically, there aren't really any drawbacks… well, except for the possibility of getting killed, of course."

After the longwinded explanation that the greenette later confessed having mostly recited from memory, after having heard it from her parent more than once, Ranma and Kasumi needed a few minutes to process everything they'd just heard.

The Nerimans were astonished of course. Magic did exist in their world as the Jusenkyo curses, love potions and other magical artifacts and supernatural creatures proved on a regular basis, but they wondered where all the magic users were; not the stage magicians of course, but the real mages like Rydia. Magic didn't seem to be all that difficult to learn after all. They came up with two theories however: either everyone had the latent ability to use magic, but no one knew about it, or Kasumi had gained the ability as a consequence of the magical incident that had brought them here. The latter was the more plausible theory and Ranma hoped that it applied to him too.

"All of that is just so fascinating," Kasumi gushed. "Do you think we could learn more about magic in Mysidia?" Kasumi sounded almost desperate. Ranma had never seen the brunette get that worked up over something. It was obvious to him that she really wanted to learn everything she could about magic.

"Probably." The summoner answered. "The magical academy and library are located there. If THEY don't have the information in their archives then it probably doesn't exist."

While the two girls were talking Ranma was trying to cast a spell, but his frustration at his lack of progress grew over time. He had memorized the gist of Rydia's explanation, but couldn't access his magic. Maybe he didn't have any magic. His frustration turned into depression, and he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't think about the most obvious solution, which was asking Rydia

Very soon they arrived at a large cave that led into a mountain. "This is the entrance to the Underground Waterway. Castle Damcyan is on the other side," the summoner explained.

As the girls were about to enter Ranma stopped them. "We should check our equipment before we enter. We don't know what we'll find inside and it never hurts to be prepared for the worst."

The two girls couldn't fault his logic and agreed. They made a quick inventory of all the stuff in their backpacks and when they were satisfied that everything was as and where it should be they cautiously entered the cave. They were surprised to see an elderly man blocking the passage, all the while muttering to himself. The stranger had his back turned to them which made a more precise determination of his age impossible.

He turned around to face the group and the pigtailed boy realized that he had been right. The man WAS old. He looked to be in his late sixties, early seventies, had a long and shaggy white beard, wild white hair and, strangely enough, wore pink tinted glasses and pink robes. Physically he was obviously past his prime and Ranma could clearly see the signs of old age on him. However, the strange aura he exuded told a different story. Ranma had never felt anything like it, but since this was a world of magic he guessed that it had to be his magical aura. It felt… heavy, if Ranma had to describe it, but not menacing. It was tightly controlled, which was a sign of experience. In fact, the old man reminded him of Cologne and Happosai to a certain extent, except that he wasn't a shriveled gnome and had yet to annoy him. Ranma had no doubt that he could easily beat the mage in front of him in a fistfight, but having seen the damage Rydia could inflict with her low level spells he was aware that the old man's spells would probably kill him in one hit.

While Ranma was lost in his thoughts, the old man analyzed the trio that had just entered the cave. Nodding his head as if he had just mentally come to a conclusion he fixed his gaze on Ranma. "You… I can feel that you're very strong. I need your assistance."

Not expecting to be addressed in such a way Ranma was caught flatfooted and his brain needed some time to come up with a fitting answer. "Erm… yeah, if we can help, sure," he stammered, but he rapidly got his focus back when he saw the desperate look in the stranger's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I must get to Damcyan to reclaim my daughter. She was deceived by a wicked bard! We must hurry, for I sense an ill omen!" He then pointed at Rydia. "And that girl… is she a summoner? Perfect! She can help too. A giant monster lurks in the lake ahead. That devil even withstands magic. I think we can defeat it together, and then I can finally be on my way.

"That should be fine," Kasumi answered. "We're headed that way too. But could you give us your name first?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? It's just that I'm so angry at the moment… I am the sage Tellah."

*****BESTIARY*****

GOBLIN: the Goblin is probably the weakest monster that exists, but should never be underestimated since it's very rare to see one of them alone. If you do see an isolated specimen you shouldn't approach it for any reason; chances are it's merely a bait to lure careless travellers into a trap. Goblins are very vicious creatures and never show their victims even a shred of mercy. They are anthropophagous and indiscriminately slaughter men, women and children, but especially love the tender meat of women and children. However, they are generally not a threat to seasoned adventurers.

DESERT SAHAGIN: the Desert Sahagin is a more than two meter tall, carnivorous monster. It consumes any meat it finds, even carrion. The Sahagin is generally a purely aquatic creature, except for the Desert Sahagin which is a distant cousin that adapted to the arid desert climate at one point of its evolution. Strangely enough it still resembles its aquatic cousin, but its skin doesn't dry out if it isn't kept moist and is perfectly capable to survive even the hottest temperatures. Solitary Desert Sahagin are easy to kill, even for a beginning adventurer, but beware of groups.

HUNDLEGS: the Hundlegs is a three meter large and one meter wide centipede. The creature is an insectivore, but doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. Hundlegs are territorial creatures and attack at once if they feel threatened, and especially if they protect their young. If you encounter Hundlegs and don't want to fight them, you should calmly walk away and avoid any threatening gestures. In most cases they won't attack. In a fight they are fearless and fight to the death. Their exoskeleton is very tough and it takes some work to crack it.

SAND WORM: the Sand Worm is the most dangerous predator of the desert around Kaipo. This monster generally is a solitary creature and you should avoid it at all costs if you're not confident in your fighting skills. The rubbery skin of this critter is very tough and it can only be hurt with magical attacks and slashing or piercing weapons. Blunt weapons and barehanded blows don't even faze it. You can always try, but don't expect the Hunters Guild to pay for your funeral. We sponsor adventurers, not suicidal morons.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

As you can see I almost completely rewrote the chapter for several reasons. One reason is that I wasn't quite happy with it. It somehow felt rushed and incomplete. Another reason is that Kasumi was still too bland and boring. That's why I decided to add a lot more background information on the young woman. We learn practically nothing about her in the manga and I want to rectify that in this fic. Kasumi is an incredibly fun character to write since she's practically a blank slate and it's therefore easy to invent an interesting past for her. Kasumi won't be a damsel in distress in this story. I'm going to turn her into quite a capable fighter that can kick ass and give the group access to some useful skills.

Another thing I want to add is that the bestiary entries are of course completely fake and not supported by any canon information. They are just so much fun to write that I've decided to add them to each chapter.

Posted 2009/05/13

Revision posted 2009/09/13


	3. Tellah Part 1

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Made a big blunder in the first version of this chapter. Zombies are NOT immune to physical attacks. They are immune against the dark element, and since that is what Cecil uses at the beginning his attacks don't do any damage, of course. Sorry about that mistake. Corrected it here and I suggest to those downloading the chapters to download the corrected version.

Disclaimer: I don't own much, and definitely neither Ranma ½ nor Final Fantasy. This chapter has been written without the help of a proofreader. If you should find any spelling or grammar mistakes, please tell me; I'll correct them right away.

This is only the first half of the chapter. I noticed that people seem to prefer shorter chapters and thus I split this one in two equally long parts. The first draft of second half has already been written but still needs some work.

If you're wondering about Tellah, he serves as the mentor and tutorial program for our dimensionally displaced heroes.

One last thing: please review. I'm always happy when people like my stories and reviews give me the energy to continue writing.

**Chapter 2 – Tellah Part 1**

_**What has gone before:**_

_After a botched summoning by Happosai, which killed the old pervert in the process, Kasumi and Ranma were sucked into a portal created by the summoned creature when it left._

_The two reappeared in a foreign place near a burning village just in time to save a little girl from some knights who were about to kill her. They saved her and ran away. From the little girl called Rydia's explanations they deduced that they weren't in their own reality any longer but were instead stranded in a world where monsters and magic were omnipresent._

_With her whole family dead and the village destroyed Rydia left with Kasumi and Ranma who were on their way to Mysidia in hopes of finding a way home. This led them to the desert town of Kaipo where they bought weapons and protective gear and joined the Hunters Guild._

_On their way to their destinations they had to fight several groups of monsters and Kasumi found out she was a white mage when she managed to cast a healing spell on Ranma. They had just reached the Waterway South, a tunnel which led to their next stop, where they met an old man named Tellah._

Rydia looked at the man in front of them with awe, a fact Ranma immediately noticed and draw his interest. "Is he famous?" He bluntly asked the summoner.

The young girl gave him an 'are you serious?' look before answering. "Of course. Mama used to tell me a lot of stories about him. She always said that he was one of the most powerful mages alive."

That sounded impressive and Ranma was already thinking of a way to get the old man to tutor him in the use of magic. He couldn't really criticize Rydia's teaching ability since he was a total novice but it stood to reason that such an experienced man would know a lot more than a young girl, and so far he didn't have any results to show for his efforts. Maybe another approach would suit his needs more.

"Erhem!" Tellah cleared his throat, somewhat miffed by the fact that there were some people who hadn't heard of him. "I'm here you know. And yes, I am rather famous, or so I'm told. However, this is no time for idle chitchat or ego stroking. Our first priority should be to save my daughter. I think we can help each other out here since you need to go to Damcyan as well. It will be much easier to get safely through the cave if we cooperate. But first I need to know what magic you specialize in so we can plan ahead. The cave is crawling with monsters and we will probably have to fight them off. To think that this used to be such a quite place, but these last weeks monster have become a lot more aggressive and their number has been increasing dramatically."

Ranma was in a bit of a bind. He didn't know any magic, yet was reluctant to admit it. He felt a little stupid for being the only one who can't cast a single spell. Kasumi was quick on the uptake, however, and answered for the group after noticing the insecurity in the martial artist's posture.

"Rydia is a summoner, like you have already figured out earlier, but she's also a black and a white mage. As far as we were able to find out I am a white mage, but unfortunately we weren't able to figure out yet where Ranma's talents lie."

This answer surprised the old man a lot. "You don't know? How is that possible? At your age you should already be accomplished mages and I can fill the power contained in the boy's body."

"Well, it's like this…" Kasumi started and gave a short summary of their adventures since arriving in this world. Tellah even forgot his mission for a moment as he was avidly listening to the strange but also fascinating story. She mentioned all the important facts: that they were from another world, the attack on Rydia's village, their fight against the soldiers from Baron, and Ranma's problems with learning magic.

"I see," the sage answered absentmindedly as he was mentally processing the information he had just heard, although there was one thing still bothering him. "That is strange since I can feel that your body contains a large amount of energy."

"Oh, that's probably my ki. I have learnt to use it a long time ago."

"Of course!" The old man struck his forehead with an open hand. "I should have noticed right away since it feels different from magic. You're like the monks from Fabul then. Yes, yes, yes, I should have noticed right away. I'm really getting old," he sighed.

Then he thought of something and his eyes focused back on the martial artist. "You can control your ki, yes? In that case I have an idea. Hmmm, yes, that could work," he mumbled to himself.

"Okay, let's try this quickly. I'm really sorry that I can't be of more help, but I don't have much time since I have to go after that bard. However, if this works you'll be a great asset in getting through the cave. I need all the help I can get if I want to defeat the nasty monster blocking the exit of the cavern, which is also the reason why I was waiting for some strong people; alone I can't beat it."

Being an experienced mage and having taught before Tellah had a good idea why the young summoner's method didn't work. "Rydia, your explanations were fine… for someone who was born in this world."

Seeing the greenette's confused look the old mage realized that he needed to be more explicit.

"Let me explain that a bit better. A mage always inherits their primary magic ability from one of their parents, which means that their parents already know what to look for when they start teaching them. This is not the case for Kasumi and Ranma who lack a magical background and don't really understand what they have to do. In Kasumi's case this was circumvented because her primary talent seems to lie in white magic and when she saw you use a spell she was able to reproduce it which is an incredible feat. She must be very talented if she was able to instinctually grasp the concept of magic. That doesn't mean that Ranma's not talented, but we probably need a different approach to unlock his potential. I think that his knowledge of ki and how to sense, direct, and control it should help him a lot in learning magic since they are quite similar. Now, Ranma, you told me you were able to feel your mana once before but have no idea how to use it, correct?"

The pigtailed fighter nodded. "That's right. I've been using ki for a few years so I know what it feels like, but I've also felt a new form of energy inside of me. Since it's not ki I guess it must be magic, right?"

"Probably. Why don't we find out? Since you're no stranger to the use of your life force we'll take your knowledge as a starting point to figure out your magic specialization. First of all, what is ki? Give me a short description without going into the details."

"Well, basically it's the life energy that every living being produces. It flows through our bodies and surrounds us. With a lot of work it is possible to learn how to control it and use it to do many different things."

"That is correct," Tellah agreed. "You have a solid base I see. That is good. What do you know about its color?"

"It can change depending on the mood you're in. Mine is usually blue since I use confidence to fuel it. I have a rival who is depressed all the time and his ki is green."

"Indeed," the old man confirmed. "Mana works much in the same way since it's also a form of energy but on a different wavelength and each form of magic has its own color. Find out what color your magic is and we'll know what form of magic you're most compatible with. To do that I want you to meditate, locate your magic, and remember its color. This shouldn't be too difficult since you've been able to feel your magic before, and it will only get easier with practice."

Ranma felt like an idiot for not figuring out the similarities on his own. It was so obvious when he thought about it. He should have been able to come to the same conclusion. He was a lot more confident now since he figured it out and did as he was told. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind of all and any distractions, tuning out the noise around him, and tried to feel the pool of foreign energy inside of him. He gradually lost all notion of time until he felt very light; weightless even. He opened his eyes and found himself floating in the air. He looked around and immediately recognized the place. This was the same spot he appeared in that time when he was searching for his ki. He looked at his wrists and saw a glowing rope of energy attached to each of them. The left one was very familiar and led to his ki reservoir, but the right one was new. He supposed that it would lead him to his mana pool. He followed the unfamiliar rope, letting it guide him to its point of origin and after a few minutes he had finally reached his destination, a very large pool of the same color as the rope that was emerging from it.

As he approached the glowing body of liquid he could easily feel the incredible power it was emitting. In fact it reminded him of the time he found his ki reservoir for the first time; it was not an unpleasant feeling; quite the contrary in fact. He cautiously dipped his index finger into the watery substance and like an angry tsunami a current of energy immediately rushed into him and suffused every cell in his body, making him feel alive like never before. He didn't stop the flow, but instead embraced it and basked in the feeling of utter bliss.

Outside of his mindscape his companions noticed a faint blue aura materializing around him and Tellah immediately recognized it for what it was. Smiling at the pigtailed boy's success he gently shook him out of his trance, just to be blown back by a wave of energy shortly before Ranma opened his eyes. Blinking and still recovering from the incredible sensations he had just been subjected to, the disoriented martial artist looked around in confusion as he was still adapting to the new power. When he saw the old man lying on the ground he panicked. He may have been in a trance for a while, but that didn't mean his situational awareness was completely gone. He knew he was responsible for the state the old man was in since something similar had happened once before when he was meditating in the dojo and got distracted by his father. Well, his father had learnt that day the hard way that it was a really bad idea to bother him while he was meditating, and surprisingly enough that was one lesson the old man never forgot since he'd never been bothered again while meditating. He quickly dismissed those thoughts and concentrated on the problem at hand. Concern clearly visible on his face he immediately rushed over to the old man hoping he was alright.

Fortunately he needn't have worried. Although the sage was past his prime he had seen a lot in his long life and a small blast like this didn't really do more than faze him. Ranma reached him just as he was getting up.

"Sorry about that," the pigtailed teen apologized and helped the elder get up. "I reacted on instinct. Are you alright?"

"I'll live," the sage answered. "Don't worry, I've had worse." He dusted off his clothes and smiled when he saw the teen calm down.

"That's quite some power you have at your disposal, young man. I also have some very good news for you. I was able to determine your magical specialization which wasn't all that difficult seeing the strong, medium blue aura you produced."

"That's also the color I saw," the martial artist confirmed. "What does it mean?"

"It means that you're a blue mage; not very common, but far from rare. I've met a few over the years, some of them very powerful."

Seeing the deadpan look the teen was giving him the old man coughed in his hand in embarrassment having forgotten that the boy had probably no idea what he was talking about. "Well, the first thing you need to understand is that blue magic is very different from any other form of magic you may encounter. For one, unlike black and white magic spells blue magic spells can't be learnt from books, but only through observation. This means that the only way to learn a blue magic spell is to see it used. Usually seeing it once is enough to be able to emulate it. If a blue mage is unable to copy a spell it normally means that it can't be learnt.

"I think that really suits you, Ranma," Kasumi gave her point of view.

"What do you mean?" The pigtailed boy wondered.

"Well, it's obvious. I noticed that it's very easy for you to learn new martial arts techniques after seeing them only once while other people might have to train for weeks to be able to do the same. Why shouldn't the same be true for your spells?"

"Hey, you're right now that I think about it. Maybe it's the same thing for your magic."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that you're interested in medicine and you also like to help people. A white mage heals and helps people, no?"

Seeing Tellah and Rydia nod he continued. That means that white magic is perfect for you."

"You may be on to something there," the old man interjected. "Maybe when you crossed over to this universe you were automatically granted a magical specialization that fits your disposition. Fascinating. I'll have to do some research on that after I've returned to Mysidia with my daugh..."

His eyes opened wide when he remembered his mission. "My daughter! I need to save my daughter. Quickly. Try and cast a spell, Ranma. Maybe you already know one. Just channel your mana and think about the monsters you've fought so far and the attacks they used. After that we really have to hurry to Damcyan. I don't want to leave her in the kidnapper's hands any longer than absolutely necessary. My sweet little daughter. Who knows what despicable things he's doing to her right this moment."

Not letting himself get distracted by Tellah's self-pity Ranma did as he was told and barely a moment later he shouted 'GOBLIN PUNCH' and an unspecified amount of punches later a large rock in front of him crumbled to dust.

Everyone looked at the result with wide eyes, but no one was more surprised than the caster himself. "WOW! I've never been this fast before. This attack might be even faster than the chestnut fist.

"You've done it," Kasumi gave the teen a radiant smile as she was genuinely happy for her friend. "You've used magic."

Tellah and Rydia were still staring at the damage the attack had done. It was an attack the Goblins loved to use and they'd seen it more than once, but never with so much destructive power behind it.

Rydia was the first to recover from the shock. "That was great," she enthusiastically shouted before hugging the boy. "I really want to see what else you can do."

"As do I," Tellah agreed, "but I'm afraid that will have to wait. We can't dally here any longer than necessary and it's a long way to Damcyan. A lot of monsters have taken up residence in these caves and I'm sure that you'll have more than one opportunity to test out your spells before we get to the exit."

They agreed and followed the old man deeper into the cave, weapons at the ready. They advanced at a decent speed but didn't neglect their guard. The sage's prediction became true very fast as barely five minutes later they encountered their first group of monsters.

Once again Ranma was surprised at the diversity of bizarre creatures in this world. In front of him were three very large, ugly and vicious looking mutated clamshells. They were red in color and their mouths were filled with dangerous looking very pointy teeth while their tongues were hanging out and dripping saliva. The critter floating behind those three monstrosities was very hard to describe. It resembled an amoeba to an extent, but the several strange, transparent, very large outgrowths with shapeless, yellow spots floating inside, and which might function as its eyes, were a very good indication that it was something completely different.

As soon as they noticed the monsters they formed a rhombus with Ranma placed at the fore angle, Rydia at the rear angle and Kasumi and Tellah on the left, respectively right angle.

"Vile Shells and a Water Bug," the sage explained. "Don't take them lightly! The Vile Shells are very aggressive and once they clamp down on someone they won't let go until death be it that of their prey or their own. Lightning spells should work very well against them."

The old man had barely had enough time to finish before the three shell-like creatures attacked. Two of them went for Ranma while the last one attacked Kasumi. The Water Bug lazily floated in the air no taking any action.

Being legless the Vile Shells weren't very fast and had to resort to hopping to reach their victims. However, they made up for this disability through sheer aggressiveness and it took Vile Shell 'A' but a few seconds to reach the pigtailed teen. It jumped in the air and tried to chomp down on his arm, but Ranma was too fast for the clumsy creature and it completely missed its target, landing on the ground with a big thud. Before the monster could recover and attack once more the martial artist had already stabbed it with his claw. He lifted the impaled creature in the air, and seeing Vile Shell 'B' reach his position he launched the wiggling, impaled monster at the attacking one. Both creatures hit the wall very hard but only one of them got up, albeit very sluggishly, stunned by the heavy blow. The mortally wounded Vile Shell screeched and thrashed around for a few moments but very soon it stopped moving altogether.

Vile Shell 'C' hadn't crossed half the distance to Kasumi's position before and arrow headed its way and became stuck in its right flank. The creature yelled in pain and fell heavily to the ground before reaching the archer. Unfortunately the arrow was only barely effective and the creature immediately resumed its charge with a crazed look in its eyes. It sped up, its eyes riveted on the woman that was the cause for its pain, but before it could reach the archer it was hit dead-on by one of Rydia's lightning attacks and fried on the spot.

Tellah hadn't taken any action yet as he wanted to find out what his new team was capable of. He nodded in approval when he saw them take the monsters down; he had chosen his travel companions well. Confident that they'd be able to deal with the minor nuisances, the old man concentrated on the real danger, the Water Bug. The monster didn't look all that dangerous but the old mage knew that looks could be deceptive, which was especially true with this cunning creature whose favorite tactic was to let other monsters weaken the targets while the Bug itself collected enough power to let loose a devastating attack. Before the critter had time to move the old man killed it with a well placed lightning bolt.

In the meantime the weakened Vile Shell 'B' had recovered enough to launch another attack at the pigtailed fighter, but a mighty kick in its belly was enough to finish it off. I hit the wall once again but this time didn't get up.

"Well done," Tellah praised the three youngsters. I'm glad to see that the rhombus formation worked out so well. If no really unpleasant surprises come up, crossing the Waterway shouldn't be too difficult."

After Ranma had cleaned his weapon and Kasumi had recovered her arrow they continued on their way with the pigtailed teen walking in front and Tellah taking up the rear. They were swapping stories and the martial artist was impressed by the adventures the old man had been through. He was a great storyteller and the two Nerimans really liked listening to him.

Ranma was in a rather good mood. He thought back to what had happened since his arrival in this strange world and he came to the surprising conclusion that for once he actually liked the latest complication in his already difficult life. Being forced to take human lives had been hard of course, but except for that uncomfortable experience it had been a nice change from his life in Nerima; no fiancées, no rivals, no Amazons, and especially no old freak whose fault it was that he got stranded there in the first place. Usually he was very forgiving, but he didn't feel sorry for the old bastard at all. He had it coming after all, and there would probably be a lot of rejoicing once the women find out that they won't have to look out for the molester and panty thief any longer.

It was actually sad when he thought about it. He was feeling more comfortable in the presence of these strangers he'd only met a short while ago than his very own family and 'friends' back home. _'Ah well. No point thinking about that now'_, he mused. _'I'll go back to the daily grind soon enough. I should enjoy my time here as long as it lasts'_.

Unfortunately, he would be reminded very soon of the fact that good things rarely last, and if he had thought about the tunnel's strange name and paid attention to his surroundings (the stalagmites and stalactites should have really clued him in) he might have taken the initiative and explain his curse to his allies to avoid any potentially embarrassing situations at a later time. It wasn't until he had entered the next cave that he noticed the danger he was in; the cave contained a huge underground lake and the only way to safely cross it was a network of wooden bridges connecting several isles of various sizes. With some trepidation he hesitantly put his right foot on the wooden construction in front of him to test its sturdiness and was quite relieved that it appeared to be in excellent repair, which would greatly reduce the risk of his curse getting exposed. Happy that he had safely dodged that particular bullet he confidently crossed the bridge rejoicing in the fact that didn't have to reveal his biggest secret, but also greatest shame, to his allies just yet. Unfortunately overconfidence was one of Ranma's biggest flaws and he really should have taken into account his usual luck when it came to water.

As soon as he had stepped off the bridge the ledge of the isle crumbled under his feet catching him flatfooted; the surprise had cost him the precious seconds needed to jump to safety and thus he fell into the lake below, creating a very large splash when he landed in the cold water.

"RANMA!" Rydia shouted out in panic, as she and the others sprinted over to the spot where the cursed fighter had fallen over the edge. The greenette was in full panic mode and frantically checking the surface of the lake for any signs that her friend had survived the deep fall while Tellah and Kasumi were trying very hard to calm her down. Just as she was on the verge of breaking into tears a huge water fountain rose into the air and a small figure jumped out of it and landed on the isle not far away from the group. Much to the summoner's surprise the figure shakily standing there and panting for breath was not the pigtailed boy she had been expecting but a red-haired girl wearing not only Ranma's clothes but also his hairstyle.

"DAMMIT!" The unknown girl angrily pounded the ground with her claw-covered right fist. "Why is it always water? And everything was going so well too. Damn curse!"

Kasumi knew her reaction wasn't very nice but she really couldn't refrain from chuckling at Ranma's misfortune. Although she had born witness to water based accidents more than once, it never ceased to be funny. Her amusement turned into concern however when her newfound allies took up an offensive stance and prepared their spells for an attack.

"STOP!" The usually very composed woman yelled in panic and jumped in front of the irate redhead who hadn't noticed the danger she was in. "She's not an enemy! She's Ranma."

The brunette's intervention and bold claim had taken them by surprise and made them lose their focus, interrupting their casting in the process. Before they could try again Kasumi had clutched the smaller girl and was throwing pleading looks at the two mages. Disconcerted by the young woman's surprising reaction and the lack of hostility from the unknown redhead they lowered their weapons and decided to wait for an explanation.

Ranma only noticed something was wrong when she felt someone grab her and only then did she notice the hostile audience staring at her.

"Ehehe. Sorry about this," the redhead apologized as she embarrassedly scratched the back of her head. "You know, there's a perfectly logical explanation for this."

Expecting the usual violent reactions or malicious accusations she was very surprised when the two to natives just stood there, calmly waiting for an explanation.

"It's a curse I got about a year ago," she explained in an annoyed tone as she was really getting tired of having to tell the whole story whenever someone saw the transformation and Nabiki's joke about selling explanatory pamphlets sounded better by the minute. "Cold water changes me into a girl and warm water back into a guy. And before you ask, I'm a guy, yes, they are real, and I'm only interested in girls."

Tellah nodded silently and Rydia was excited, hardly any of the reactions the redhead had been expecting. No malletting, no groping, no name calling… Actually, it was kind of refreshing and she could really get used to it.

"You're taking this rather well. How come?" She wondered.

"Well, I can't speak for Rydia, but curses are nothing unusual. Mind you I've never seen a sex change curse, but any halfway competent black mage knows at least one or two shape shifting curses, the 'Toad' spell being the most common one, changing the victim into a toad."

"I know that one," Rydia interrupted. "It's easy to learn."

"There you have it. The thing that really surprises me however is the potency of your curse. All the ones I've ever heard about are a one time thing and once dispelled they have to be cast once again. This is probably the first recurrent curse ever. I might even make it into the history books if I can get to the bottom of this mystery."

"Glad to see someone thinks it's interesting," the martial artist muttered angrily, jostling the old man out of his fantasies.

"I think it's neat," the summoner excitedly circled around Ranma, examining her from head to toe. "You probably have a lot of fun with it, no?"

"Riiight… fun!" She sarcastically answered. "I'd like to see you have to deal with it all the time. Do you think it's fun being treated like a freak or a pervert just for something you have no control over?"

"Sorry," the greenette meekly apologized, tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"Ah… no. Don't cry!" Ranma frantically waved her arms trying to calm her down as crying girls usually meant a lot of pain; either getting attacked by one of her rivals or by Akane. Noticing the lack of pain she calmed down and took the upset girl in her arms. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's not your fault, but I'm just sick and tired of it all. I'd like nothing better than to finally get rid of it. So far every 'miracle cure' has been a bust and I don't know if there even is a cure."

"Maybe Tellah knows a cure," Rydia tried to lift the martial artist's spirits. "He's one of the most famous mages in the world after all."

Seeing the hopeful look the redhead was giving him the elder actually blushed a bit. "Ah well, I don't know. I'll have to do some research. As I've said before your curse is unlike any other I've seen before and probably much stronger. If there is a cure I don't know about it and I suggest you don't get your hopes up. I promise that I'll try my best once I'm home with my daughter. I doubt that 'Esuna' will work.

"Esuna?" The cursed Neriman wondered.

"Yes. It's the most powerful healing spell known to mankind. It is said that it can cure almost any disease or curse."

"Do-Do you know that spell?" She asked in a hopeful tone, hoping that for once luck was on her side.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I've forgotten a lot of spells over the years, but this is one I can remember quite well."

"That's great! Could you try the spell on me, please?"

"Well… alright. I don't see why not. Just stay still and I'll give it a try." The old man then gathered a very large amount of mana in his hand and cast the spell.

"ESUNA!"

Ranma was immediately obscured from view by a bright halo that encased her completely and the witnesses were eagerly waiting for the light to die down to see the result of the experiment.

"Did it work?" A female voice asked after the light was gone, but she realized immediately that once again the cure was a dud.

"Darn! Should have known it wouldn't work," she cursed in a neutral tone, having anticipated the result. [1]

"Just as I thought; the curse is too strong. Okay, I'll take up the challenge. I'll cure you of the spell yet. I can't wait to find out more about the magic behind it after I'm back in Mysidia."

Seeing that there wasn't much else they could do at the moment they continued on their way to the castle. Kasumi saw the redhead's reflective mood and hoped that she was alright. "How are you feeling? You must be very disappointed that the spell didn't work."

"Naaa! Only a little." She reassured her friend when she saw the worrying look in her eyes. "I'm used to it by now, you know. There probably isn't a cure, but I won't give up anyway. Maybe one day I'll find one. We'll see."

Although they had been advancing carefully they were unable to avoid falling into an ambush a few hundred meters further ahead while they were crossing a narrow bridge. The ambush had been rather unexpected as they hadn't anticipated an attack out of the lake. They only realized the danger they were in after three fountains of water had exploded around them revealing three dangerous predators. The three monsters were man-sized, orange fish with huge fins that were flapping at a very fast pace and allowed them to stay airborne. Their most noticeable feature however was the large mouth filled with vicious looking serrated teeth. They resembled the piranhas Ranma had had to catch at the fair when she tried to learn the _Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken__ technique, but those had been much smaller and obviously less dangerous. _

The ambush spot had been well chosen as the group had not only been caught flatfooted but they also lacked the space to take up a formation, a problem the floating monsters didn't have. Their maneuverability in the air allowed them to freely attack from any side, an advantage they immediately made use of, attacking one opponent each. The only one spared was Rydia. Ranma, who had the fastest reaction time of them all, jumped towards Kasumi and pushed her to the ground just before the fish had reached her, causing the attack to miss. Unfortunately, in order to protect the brunette the martial artist had left her back wide open, a weak spot another Killer Fish quickly took advantage of as it landed a solid hit with its tailfin that had been hard enough to throw the redhead to the ground.

Meanwhile, Tellah didn't have an easy time with his own enemy either. If he had been a few years younger he would have easily dodged the monsters sloppy biting attack. As things were, however, old age had really dulled his reflexes and he had only been barely able to evade the brunt of the attack as the monster had got close enough to cut a deep gash in his left shoulder with its impressive teeth. The wound was bleeding profusely but not enough to take the experienced mage out of the battle; he had had worse in the past.

Before the critters had the time to recover and attack a second time the party took action. The earlier attack had been violent and would have been strong enough to knock out Rydia or Kasumi, but to someone like Ranma, who was used to Akane's and Ryoga's blows it had been nothing more than a love tap and hadn't slowed her down in the slightest, even if the tailfin attack had scratched her back and she was losing some blood from the wound. Still, the redhead was really pissed at the monsters for daring to attack Kasumi and she would show no mercy. "GOBLIN PUNCH!" She shouted in anger and turned Killer Fish A into a sieve. The eyes of the remaining attackers were on her now after the violent attack, which gave Kasumi time enough to notch an arrow and take aim. Before Killer Fish B could return its attention to the brunette she had let the arrow loose. The projectile struck true, piercing the monster's flank. The fish screeched in pain before falling to the ground; it flopped around like a fish out of water, obviously, which only served to aggravate its serious wound even more and a few moments later it stopped struggling altogether after having drawn its last breath.

Rydia's lightning spell quickly dealt with the last monster while Tellah was tending to his wound.

"Darn things!" Ranma cursed after the fight. "Attacking out of the water like that. One more thing we'll have to watch out for. Ah well, at least they went down fast," she continued while Kasumi was curing her injury, happy that she could use her magic once again, even if it was in such an unfortunate situation.

"Thank you for saving me," the grateful brunette said while healing the younger girl. "If not for your fast save the monster would got me, and I doubt I'd be standing after such a powerful attack. I feel so useless. I wish I were stronger so I didn't have to rely on you all the time."

"You're not useless," Ranma reassured the anxious white mage. "Your healing magic is really great. I really could have used your healing powers back home after some of my fights. So don't think you're a burden. I'm happy to have you here with me instead of any of the other idiots and I really don't mind saving you."

"I know that," she interrupted the redhead, "but I don't want to have to rely on you. What if we get separated? I really need to get stronger."

"Don't worry," the martial artist interrupted her. "If you want to I can help you train when we have time, but I don't think you'll need it; you're getting all the training you need on this trip, and having to face dangerous situations is the best way to improve. Trust me; I know what I'm talking about."

Kasumi didn't doubt that one minute. Considering how fast Ranma had improved since coming to Nerima the martial artist was probably right, but that wasn't enough for her. The readhead was far ahead of her and even if she'd never reach that level she hoped to surpass everyone else she knew. She had no intention of ending up as the designated victim [2], like her little sister who had to be saved every other day.

After confirming the monsters' deaths they quickly cleaned their weapons and left the battlefield behind. Very soon they arrived at the entrance to another cave. Ranma prudently peered inside and the first thing she noticed was the absence of isles, bridges, and especially water. She didn't really mind the underground lake now that her secret was out anyway, but the water had been cold, and she didn't want to get wet more than absolutely necessary, and she knew that with her usual luck with liquids of any kind it was bound to happen again very soon. In the distance she could vaguely recognize a group of people.

The martial artist called out to the others. "Hey, there are people in there. Should we join them?"

The redhead pointed them out to the others after they'd joined her, but Tellah objected to her plan. "That's not a good idea. We don't know if they are friendly and therefore I suggest we approach them very carefully. Better safe than sorry."

They followed the elder's suggestion and advanced slowly, but it didn't take them long to notice that something wasn't right. The humans were wandering around aimlessly and at a very slow pace. As they got nearer Tellah recognized the 'people' for what they were.

"Zombies!" He hissed. "There shouldn't be any here. Something is very wrong here."

As they got closer Ranma was really surprised that these undead were quite different from those she had seen in zombie movies. While the movie monsters had some defining characteristics that allowed the viewer to recognize who they had been in life all the ones in front of her looked alike which made it impossible to keep them apart. There were four of the bulky, hulk-like creatures towering over the group with their impressive size of over two meters. Unlike the movie zombies these didn't have rotting flesh hanging from their bones, but their grey, unhealthy looking skin was smoothly stretched over their frames, making them look like dolls. Their faces were identical too as the only recognizable features were two empty eye sockets and a perpetually wide open mouth. The rags they were wearing, and which might have been fine clothing a long time ago, were hanging in tatters from their bodies, indicating that the once living beings must have been dead for quite some time.

"Huh? Why?" The martial artist wondered

"Because it doesn't make sense for them to be here. Human zombies usually only appear at cemeteries, battlefields, or any other place where people died or are buried. If there are any here it can only mean that either someone has raised them, an action which is forbidden, or that the balance in the world has been upset, which would explain the large increase in the monster population. Whichever the reason it can't be good."

"What should we do?" Kasumi asked. "Attack them or try to sneak past?"

"Well, killing them should be easy since they are very vulnerable to fire and holy magic, but I'd rather we avoid wasting too much magic as we might need the spells at a later date. So, sneaking past would be the best choice. Zombies are very slow and even if they see us we shouldn't have any trouble getting away."

Heeding the experienced elder's advice they crept past the creatures and very soon left them behind only to stumble upon a new group of monsters.

"Oh, come on! Can't we ever catch a break?" Ranma cursed.

There were six creatures in the tunnel. Two more of those fish they'd killed earlier, two creatures that looked exactly like the Desert Sahagin they'd encountered the day before, except that these were light blue, as well as two very tiny gnome-like… humans?"

Ranma immediately sprang into action and skewered one of the Killer Fish with her first attack before the monster could react.

"You should have gone for the Tiny Mages first," Tellah admonished her. "They are the real threat."

Kasumi, having heard the old man's explanation shot an arrow at one of the tiny creatures but the shot lacked precision and the creature was only wounded. The monster countered immediately by casting a spell on the inexperienced white mage.

She felt a strange tingling, and found out to her horror that she was unable to move. She tried to fight the effects of the spell, unfortunately in vain.

Tellah cursed at the white mage's misfortune, but didn't let that little setback distract him from the task at hand. He quickly cast an ice attack at the other Tiny Mage which killed it immediately. Just as Rydia was about to finish off the first Tiny Mage, the critter cast a spell at Ranma.

A large mallet appeared in the air and bonked her on the head with no visible effect, but the pigtailed girl's brain dissected the attack immediately and added the new spell to her rather limited selection. The redhead was happy to have learnt a new spell, although she was not sure whether it would come in handy in the future or not.

An instant later the creature was dead; Rydia's lightning bolt had hit it dead on.

While the Tiny Mages were being dealt with the three remaining monsters hadn't been idle and had reached the party soon after the wanderers' first attack. The Killer Fish and one of the Sahagins went for Ranma since she was the closest while the other Sahagin's target was Rydia who hadn't had time to take a defensive position after her successful attack.

The Sahagin attacked with its sharp claws, but the blow was softened and barely pierced Ranma's skin, much to the redhead's surprise who so far had not been convinced of her enchanted gear's effectiveness.

The Killer Fish's attack on the other hand had completely missed as the martial artist didn't have any trouble at all evading the simple frontal attack. She looked over to Kasumi's position and was relieved to notice that she hadn't been attacked again and was relatively safe outside of the melee.

The Sahagin attacking Rydia had an easier time as the young summoner lacked Ranma's experience and reflexes, but the previous fights had sharpened her skills enough to evade the deadly strike to her heart, so that she was hit on her left flank instead.

Ranma had noticed this and in order to avoid giving the three monsters time to regroup and focus on the weakened summoner she disregarded her own defense and attacked both of her own attackers at the same time, running the Sahagin through with her claw and kicking the Killer Fish away. With a swift pull the redhead removed her hand from the agonizing, impaled monster, which then sagged to the ground where it breathed its last.

At the same time Tellah took care of the remaining Sahagin. "THUNDER!" Was the last thing the monster heard before it was struck dead by a lightning bolt.

Confident that Ranma would be able to deal with the last monster Tellah quickly cast a cure spell at the summoner.

The Killer Fish got up again, slowly, and before it could take any action Ranma finished it off.

Once the battle was over the pigtailed girl tried to help Kasumi, even going as far as shaking her, but to no avail.

"That won't work," the old mage said after joining the redhead. "The spell will wear off on its own after a while. Just wait one or two minutes and she'll be back to normal."

Ranma let go of the paralyzed woman but stayed close by just in case.

Rydia on the other hand used the waiting period to go over to the Tiny Mages' corpses and collect the stuff that was scattered around them. She came back with a rod, a piece of jewelry, and two small bottles.

She enthusiastically waved the items around. "Look what I've found."

Ranma looked at the Tiny Mages and saw a lot of useless junk lying around them. "Where have they been hiding those things? I'm sure I would have noticed if they'd been carrying all that stuff around."

Tellah answered her. "Oh that? That's just a spell that allows a mage to create a magical pocket to keep their possessions in. It's not too difficult to learn and it comes in really handy if you have items you want to keep safe. However, it dispels automatically once the mage dies."

Ranma rapidly realized the usefulness of that spell and wanted to learn it as soon as possible. She'd had been unsuccessful so far in recreating Mousse's hidden weapons style, but this spell was even better. At least she wouldn't have to observe the blind idiot any longer to find out the secret behind his technique.

At that moment the hold spell fizzled out and Kasumi dropped down like a puppet whose strings had been cut, but Ranma had been paying attention and caught her before she could hurt herself. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

The brunette shook her head and grinned at the fuss her friend was making over that little incident; she just hoped that the martial artist would never lose her caring nature. "Don't worry. I'm alright. It was a very strange feeling, though. I could see the whole fight, but I was unable to do anything. I hope that won't happen again."

The summoner had meanwhile reached the old man and the dimension travelers and showed them the loot.

Ranma took the rod and was surprised at the cold radiating from its tip; Tellah took the other items.

Tellah looked at the rod and immediately recognized the weapon from the cold aura it was emitting. "Ah, an ice rod. That's a very fine weapon for a mage. I'm sure it will come in very handy."

He then concentrated on the items in his hand and nodded after he had successfully identified them. "A silver armlet, an antidote, and an ether. Those are some very nice finds. The silver armlet will give one of you a good defensive boost. I think Rydia should wear it; she's physically the weakest of us."

Seeing that no one objected he handed the summoner the jewelry. The young girl put it on and it immediately changed from a rather ordinary looking bracelet into a finely crafted ladies bracelet that magically shrunk to fit her wrist.

"This looks really good on you," Kasumi told the greenette as eyed the beautiful bracelet.

"All the women in our world would just love to have auto adjustable jewelry, don't you think so Ranma?"

Ranma just gave the older girl a blank stare.

Kasumi concealed her mouth with a hand and tried desperately to stifle a giggle. "I'm sorry. You're probably the only girl I know who wouldn't be interested."

The redhead declined to take the bait but instead pointed at the potions. "What do they do?"

The old man had been expecting that question. "The antidote cures almost any poison and the ether help you recover some mana. This will be especially useful should one of us run out of magic in a fight, which is a definite possibility if the monster attacks don't ebb down."

He handed the summoner the ether. "Here, take it. You'll probably need it the most. I have my own."

The greenette took the vial and put it in her pocket. "Thanks."

As they were preparing to leave there was one thing that bothered Kasumi a bit and that she wanted to get to the bottom of. "Say, Ranma. What was that spell you got hit with? It doesn't seem to have had any effect."

"That spell is called 'Magic Hammer', apparently. The spell siphoned some of my mana. Luckily I didn't lose all of my reserves."

This fast and precise answer surprise the white mage. "How do you know that?"

"Huh?" The young girl hadn't really expected that question and after thinking for a few moments she realized that she really had no idea. "Hey! You're right. How do I know that?"

"That's one of the unexplained mysteries in the world," the old man explained. "No one has ever found an answer, and not for the lack of trying. Many a researcher and philosopher have tried to get to the bottom it over the last centuries, but no one has succeeded so far."

They continued onwards and arrived in the next section of the Waterway which to Ranma's exasperation was once again a network of isles combined by bridges. "When will we get out of here?"

"We've cleared the first half," the old man reassured the redhead, "but we still have ways to go. We'll get to a safe spot very soon and we'll be able to rest for a while."

Unfortunately rest was not to come for a while yet as the party was surprised by another group of monsters that had suddenly appeared in front of them. The redhead groaned in frustration. It was true that she enjoyed a good fight from time to time but this was getting ridiculous. She had the impression that every goddamn monster in this cave somehow had it out for them.

At least this time she recognized the three creatures as they looked a lot like their more friendly counterparts from her own world, except for two major differences. These frogs were not only positively huge, at least as large as wolves, but they also had teeth, very impressive looking ones at that. Ranma had seen a lot of frogs and toads in her travels, and even eaten some, but never did any of them have teeth. Two of them were yellow with blue markings on their bodies while the third one was ice blue with brown markings.

"Gigantoads and a Toadgre," Tellah identified them. "And we'd almost made it to the safe point too." Then he remembered that he'd completely failed to warn the dimension hoppers about these monsters although he knew that they could be found in this place. "Whatever you do, don't touch them! Their skin continuously secretes a very potent poison and a lick from their tongues can cause paralysis. The warning had come too late however as Ranma's claw had already attacked one of the creatures, piercing its skin with her claw. She immediately removed her arm after hearing the warning but unfortunately it had been too late as she'd already come into contact with the poison. Her skin was rapidly turning blue and it didn't take more than a few seconds for her to fall to the ground convulsing in pain.

Kasumi covered her mouth with a hand in shock. "RANMA! NO!"

*****BESTIARY*****

VILE SHELL: the Vile Shell is best described as a very large, mutated mixture of a clam and an oyster the size of a wolf. This monster has no real intelligence and cunning, but it is very aggressive. As the Vile Shell doesn't have any legs it can only jump around which reduces its threat level by a wide margin. No one knows where this creature comes from, but monster experts speculate that its creation is the result of some alchemists carelessly disposing of their failed experiments in the sea.

WATER BUG: the Water Bug is a really strange creature resembling an amoeba in form as well as color. There are only few facts known about this bizarre creature. For one you never see one alone but only in the presence of other monsters. The Water Bug is a cowardly, but very cunning monster. For one it never attacks first but lets other monsters weaken its opponents first while it powers up an attack. However, if the other monsters in its group are defeated it immediately runs away. The best strategy to deafeat this opportunistic creature is to target it first.

KILLER FISH: the Killer Fish is a ravenous creature that only attacks in groups. It looks like a giant piranha but has sharper teeth and its fins function as wings which allow it to fly. This critter is incredibly fast and maneuverable, but if its attack misses it needs a few moments to adjust which makes it a sitting duck in those few instants. This creature is not very strong or durable and a single hit is usually enough to kill it.

ZOMBIE: the Zombie is a soulless and corpse, aimlessly wandering around and attacking anything that approaches. The mindless Zombie never tires and will wander around its spawning ground until destroyed. It has no intelligence to speak of, but its inhuman strength and ability to regenerate from any physical blow if it's not completely destroyed makes it a dangerous enemy to people who don't know any holy or fire spells. Thankfully, this monster is very slow and it's not difficult to run away from it. Zombies can appear naturally at battlegrounds or other places where carnages have taken place, but usually they are created by mages. Raising corpses to transform them into Zombies is strictly forbidden and any mage who dabbles in necromancy will be severely punished.

SAHAGIN: the blue skinned Sahagin is related to its weaker cousin the Desert Sahagin, with the only physical difference being the color of the skin. Just like its cousin this creature is carnivorous and eats only meat and fish. It is physically stronger than its cousin, but can't survive for long in a waterless environment. The Sahagin is a dangerous predator in its natural habitat, a body of water, but easy to kill out of it. Like most other aquatic creatures it is weak to lightning spells.

TINY MAGE: the Tiny Mages are a race of magical beings created by mages a long time ago to be used as cheap labor to help them with their chores and even magical research. Tiny Mages are intelligent and capable of speech. Unfortunately after decades of being used as slaves a group of them started a rebellion, quickly joined by many others, killing a lot of people in the upraise. They harbor a strong resentment against humans and attack them whenever they can safely do so. Tiny Mages are to be killed on sight. They are physically weak, but can be dangerous if attacked with spells.

[1] I added this scene only to stop people from asking about it all the time. Sorry, but the curse stays even if it won't be important for the story.

[2] Check the TV Tropes webpage for the definition.

POSTED 2011/05/23

EDITED 2011/05/28


	4. Tellah Part 2

Here's a new chapter for your reading pleasure. Well, at least I hope you'll like it. This was written without a pre-reader, so there might be spelling mistake, and since I didn't get any feedback at all in the usual forums where I post my chapters first I'm happy for any feedback I can get.

This is the last chapter that will follow the canon path of the game. There will be a lot of surprising developments in the following chapter, starting with the attack on Damcyan at the end of this chapter.

The usual disclaimer applies here. None of this belongs to me… blablabla.

**Chapter 2 – Tellah Part 2**

_**What has gone before:**_

_Ranma, Kasumi, and Rydia leave Kaipo, the desert town, after equipping themselves with weapons and armour and stocking up on potions and supplies._

_Along the way they meet a famous sage, Tellah, who is on a quest to save his daughter after she was abducted by a bard. They agree to travel together through the Underground Waterway, a dangerous underground tunnel crawling with monsters. Things have been going rather well for the group and the monsters haven't been that much of a challenge until they encounter a rather harmless looking group of monsters which as it turns out are anything but and Ranma ends up poisoned._

"Ranma!" Kasumi put her hand in front of her mouth in shock when she saw her friend lying there on the ground, curled up in foetal position, her mouth contorted in a rictus of pain. "RANMA! Hold out! I'll help you!" In a panic she ran over to the redhead hoping that it wasn't already too late. Without wasting time she immediately used her cure spell on the panting martial artist, but her condition didn't seem to improve, much to her dismay. She tried two more times, but the result was the same.

While the brunette was taking care of Ranma Tellah and Rydia were busy fighting the monsters and couldn't really take the time to cure the martial artist.

That didn't keep the sage from providing some help and he could at least give some advice. "Don't waste your mana!" He shouted, having briefly taken his eyes off the creatures. "That spell is ineffective against poison. Try and calm her down; I'll take care of it after the fight."

The young white mage was panicking now and prayed for a miracle; anything that could help save her friend. Suddenly her mind cleared up and she knew what to do. She had no idea how she could know, but the right spell just entered her mind. "POISONA!" She laid her hands on Ranma's arm and saw a green glow come out of them and flow into the redhead's body. The blue color receded and very soon it had disappeared completely to be replaced with healthy looking skin.

Rydia felt really bad that she couldn't do anything to help her friends, but she knew that if she didn't concentrate on the fight to keep the monsters away from the two otherworlders they would probably be killed. The frog was too fast and didn't give her the time to cast a spell. Her only means of defense was her ice rod and she hit the creature with full force just before it could make contact. The monster was immediately encased in ice and another quick hit with the rod shattered it into a thousand pieces. The summoner looked at her weapon in awe; she had no idea that it was that powerful.

Meanwhile, the old man had finished off the wounded Gigantoad with an ice spell, but was too slow to prevent the Toadgre's attack. The creature jumped on him and pinned him to the ground from licking him in the face with its raspy tongue. This caused the mage to be rooted on the spot and rendered him unable to move a single finger.

Ranma in the meantime had completely recovered and was ready to reenter the battle, but a frontal assault was out of the question as she really didn't want to be poisoned again.

While the redhead was still pondering on her options Kasumi had already let loose an arrow which pierced one of the monster's legs and effectively nailed the critter to the ground.

Try as it might the Toadgre was unable to free itself, and pulling the leg only made the wound worse. The creature might have been unable to move and attack physically, but that didn't keep it from using its other abilities. Not giving Kasumi and Rydia the time to finish it off it opened its mouth and broke out into a very loud but melodious chorus composed of different croaking sounds. The spell didn't affect anyone but Ranma's brain was once again filled with information about the intricate workings of that particular spell.

Dismayed by the lack of success the monster was struggling even harder to free itself, but to no avail and when it saw the confident smirk forming on the redhead's face it knew that its days were numbered. The martial artist might not be able to physically strike the enemy, but that was not a problem as she had one particular attack that didn't require physical contact and she was very confident that it would work like a charm. She powered up her aura and let it flow into her outstretched hands where it grew into a large, pulsating sphere. "MOKO TAKABISHA!"

A beam of energy left her hands and struck the Toadgre full on with the force of a wrecking ball and smashed it into the wall, sans its leg which was still pinned to the ground. A massive stream of blood was flowing out of the large wound and after a few shudders the creature stilled and didn't move again.

The party relaxed, except for Tellah who couldn't, of course, and who was still rooted to the spot completely paralyzed and unable to make the slightest movement. Ranma and Kasumi were at a loss as to what to do to help the unfortunate mage, but Rydia wasn't thankfully. She knew of two ways to remove the status effect. One was the spell 'Esuna' which she didn't know, while the other was a very expensive item called 'Remedy'. She knew they hadn't bought any of those at Kaipo, but she hoped that Tellah had one in his well-stocked pharmacopoeia. She rummaged through the old man's stuff and was relieved when she found what she had been looking for. She took the expensive medicine, which was won from a very rare root, and poured it into the sage's mouth.

Almost instantly the mage could move again.

"Thank you." He patted the young girl on her head. "That was some very quick thinking, Rydia. I see that you've learnt your lessons well. Thankfully I never leave without my potions."

He then took a look at the defeated creatures before continuing. "Have you checked if they are really dead? I don't want to have a nasty surprise later on."

"I'm on it!" Rydia enthusiastically ran over to the bodies hoping that she might find something interesting.

Kasumi looked at the scene with fondness, thinking back to her own childhood and remembering the 'adventures' she'd had in her neighborhood. Of course, exploring the neighborhood in Nerima had never been all that dangerous, compared tho this place at least, but she had always had a lot of fun anyway. "She has a lot of energy and seems to be in good spirits. When my mother died I didn't leave my room for a week and cried all the time, and yet here's a little girl who has lost everyone she knew and doesn't seem to be all that affected by it."

"I think this is her way of coping with the loss," Tellah exposed his theory, "and instead of hiding in a corner and wallowing in self-pity she decided to move on and maybe mourn at a later date when she's safe from the armies from Baron. It's obvious that the king is afraid of the summoners and their powers and I don't doubt for a minute that they won't stop their genocide until they've exterminated every last one of them. This girl is the future and we must do everything in our power to protect her."

While the older travelers had been talking the greenette had reached the last monster's body which had fallen behind an outcrop. Next to it she noticed something unusual sticking out of the ground where it was buried. She removed the earth around the object and with a hard yank pulled the item out of the ground. The thing was in a bad shape but it was still recognizable as a very large backpack… which must have been lying there for quite some time if the rotted leather was any indication.

As she was about to open the pack the severely damaged bottom gave way and the loot fell to the floor making enough noise for the others to stop talking and instead look over to her to see what was wrong.

"Everything's alright," she shouted over to them before pointing at the trove lying in front of her. "Look what I've just found."

The three joined the green-haired girl who was happily rummaging through pile of objects, sorting them by type. There were several bottles, two beautiful reddish-yellow feathers, about 30 glowing arrows, 3 tent seals, a very nice looking vest, a pointy hat, another armlet like the one they had found earlier, two daggers, a rod, some simple tools, and a pile of money.

Tellah was once again in charge of identifying everything. "Well, the bottles contain nothing really rare, but it's always good to have some spares. We should have enough potions and ethers for everyone now. Keep one of each on you at all times at an easily reachable place. Having quick access to restorative items has saved many a fighter over the centuries. The two Phoenix Downs can be kept in the backpack I just hope we won't need them."

"What are those good for?" Ranma asked as she was examining the soft, delicate feather in her hand.

"They can bring people back to life."

"NO WAY! You people can cure death!" Ranma shouted loudly, having a hard time believing it.

The old man chuckled at the redhead's reaction, but the shocked look on Kasumi's face was priceless too. "Well, there are limitations of cause. It only works in case of an unnatural death; there's no cure for old age, unfortunately. There are also some spells that have the same effect as the Phoenix Down, and I'm sure Kasumi will be able to learn them."

The brunette looked at the sage with wide eyes. "You really think so? You really believe I'll be one day good enough to resurrect people?"

"I don't see why not. Look at how fast you learnt your first spells, without any instruction I might add. That's a clear sign that you're a very gifted person. I'm sure that with a good teacher you can get very far."

A radiant smile formed on the Neriman's face as she fell into a daydream in which she saw herself as a doctor in a clinic using her magical skills to cure people. It wasn't until she felt someone shake her a few times that she came out of it. She saw Ranma's concerned look as the martial artist was letting go of her, but quickly assuaged her fears. "Don't worry. I was just thinking about all the good I could do if I knew a spell like that. Think of all the people I could help"

Tellah cleared his throat and the two foreigners focused their attention back on him. "Okay then. Let's go back to business. The two daggers are nothing special, but the other items are excellent finds. The Gaia Gear and Wizard's hat are perfect for mages as they not only offer some decent protection from physical blows and magical attacks, but also improve the effectiveness of spells. You already know about the silver armlet, and the glowing arrows are in fact holy arrows. They are particularly potent against undead monsters and other dark creatures.

Kasumi examined the Gaia Gear very closely. She really liked the stylish design and the colorful geometric pattern and imagined herself wearing it. The hat on the other hand looked rather ridiculous and would have fit right into Harry Potter or any other fantasy novel, but then safety was more important than style.

"I suggest we split the items evenly among you," the sage continued. "Kasumi gets the Gaia Gear, Rydia the Wizard's Hat, and Ranma the armlet."

The two girls took their loot without hesitation, but the redhead on the other hand eyed the piece of jewelry with distrust.

Tellah noticed this and decided to confront the part-time girl on the issue. "What's the problem? It doesn't bite, you know," he joked.

The martial artist gave him a dirty look. "I don't want to wear something that girly," she pointed at Rydia's bracelet. "I may be a girl physically but I'm still a guy mentally. Just imagine me wearing that when I change back. No thank you."

The sage didn't seem to be bothered by the redhead's outburst. "Is that all? I can assure you that it won't be a problem at all. These magical armlets automatically change into a form that suits their wearer's personality or conforms to their taste. While it might look slightly girlish when you wear it now it will probably change once you switch forms. Why don't you just try it on? If you don't like it you can always remove it."

She examined the object once more before putting it on her right arm. The old man was right; if she didn't like it she could simply remove it. Immediately the magical item morphed into a silver wristband, and except for the color and material it looked just like the ones she usually wore. "Hey, this is not so bad. It looks really good even."

In the meantime Kasumi had used the distraction to slip away and get some privacy to put on her new robe. It fit her like a glove, not that she had expected anything else as magical garment automatically adjusted to the wearer's size. The material was very fine and the robe comfortable to wear.

She returned to the others before they even noticed her disappearance. "How do I look?" she asked Ranma as she posed sexily in front of the redhead.

"You look great," Ranma answered sincerely, a blush developing on her face when she saw the brunette push out her chest, a reaction which pleased the older girl. "It really suits you."

"You're very beautiful," Rydia added. "I hope I'll be just as beautiful when I'm older."

"I'm sure you will," Kasumi reassured the young girl.

"Ladies?" Tellah interrupted the scene. "We'll reach a resting place very soon. You'll have more than enough time to compliment each other once we're there."

Nothing further was said as Tellah led the group towards the safe point, which they reached a few minutes later without having their progress impeded by any more monster attacks.

The safe point didn't look like much in Ranma's opinion and was composed of a small circular symbol of some sort, surrounded by eight thin, 3-meter-tall stone monoliths aligned in an oval formation around the center, but the slight tingling she felt when she passed the monoliths convinced here that there was more to the place than meets the eye.

"The tingling is caused by the magical barrier surrounding us. The spot we're in now is probably one of the safest places in the world. There are several of these safe points on every continent and the barrier keeps monsters away." Tellah explained. "We're also theoretically safe from humans since any harmful action inside a safe spot is strictly forbidden and punishable by death. This is a safe haven for everyone, friend or foe alike. No one knows who created the safe points and what magic was used to accomplish this feat, but they must be very old since they are already mentioned in the oldest known history books."

He took a tent seal out of his pocket and put it on the ground. As soon as he had said 'release' the seal exploded in a cloud of dust from which emerged a fully formed, large tent.

"Those tents last for eight hours before fading away," the old man continued. "I suggest we sleep for a few hours. We need all our strength for the trials ahead. It pains me to leave my daughter with the bard any longer than necessary, but I doubt I'll be able to save her if I'm not at the top of my game."

The companions didn't see any fault in the sage's logic and agreed, although Rydia couldn't do more than nod before her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. Kasumi put a blanket over the exhausted girl.

"Poor, dear," the brunette gave the exhausted girl a regretful look as she caressed her hair for a few moments. "She must have been completely exhausted. I hope things will get better for her."

She had barely time to finish her sentence before her eyes closed too. She tried to resist, but she was fighting a losing battle. She had just enough time to lie down before falling asleep.

Ranma chuckled at this. "You're on to talk," he said very softly and with fondness in his voice. "You were just as exhausted as Rydia, but I have to admit that you're very tough. You're doing pretty well for someone who had never gone on an adventure before. I doubt Akane would have fared as well as you have."

Tellah smiled at the scene as it was clear to him that Ranma was very fond of his travelling companion and then remembered better times when his daughter had not been so rebellious.

"She's so much like Anna," he longingly looked at the green haired girl.

"Anna?" Ranma asked as she sat down next to the sage.

Tellah looked at the redhead just then realizing that he had said that out loud. "Yes, my daughter. Rydia reminds me so much of her. Anna was just as full of life and just as nice as our friend here when she was younger. She used to be such an obedient child… but then she had the nerve to elope with that bard because I didn't consent to their union."

The martial artist blinked at this explanation. This was totally different from the story she had been told earlier and put everything in a different light. The girl had not been kidnapped like Tellah had let her believe but she ran away with the man she loved. This brought back some unhappy memories of her parents and friends who were constantly trying to control her life and decide her future for her. Still, the problems between the old man and his daughter were none of her business and she had come to really like the sage. He was very patient with Kasumi and her and didn't mind answering their. He was also a competent teacher to boot. She was sure that if she stuck with him she could learn a lot.

Ranma was smart enough to realize the potential landmine this topic was and quickly changed it. "What can you tell me about that monster that blocks the exit? It must be really strong if you have trouble with it."

"That's putting it lightly. It's a vicious creature with eight huge tentacles. We must kill it and reach Damcyan before it's too late."

"Too late for what? Do you think the bard will hurt your daughter?"

The old man froze in place before he could answer. That possibility hadn't even entered his mind after he realized that his daughter was gone, too angry to think that far. He quickly dismissed that thought, though, since he had to reluctantly admit that the bard was really smitten with Anna and he had looked like a decent sort of person, but he could be wrong. He'd store that thought for later. "Well, there's that too, but I have a really bad feeling that something horrible is going to happen. I hope my instincts are wrong."

Ranma had no answer to that. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that at the moment. Why don't we catch a few z's too?" She suggested. "I could use some rest too."

The sage agreed and the two experienced fighters joined the girls inside the tent and promptly fell asleep themselves. They were only human after all.

**01234543210**

Cecil was in some serious trouble. He had safely made it to Kaipo, but he was completely exhausted. All those fights with no help had really exhausted him and he had barely made it to the inn before falling asleep.

After some well-deserved rest he got up and left the inn after eating a hearty meal. As he was crossing the village he heard two people talk about a sick white mage from Baron they found in the desert.

"What's her name?" The dark knight butted into their conversation, grabbing one by the lapel of his vest, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Erm... Erh…" The frightened man tried but his mouth didn't want to cooperate. When his survival instinct kicked in he managed to stutter one word: "R-Rosa."

He froze on the spot and let go of the man as fear gripped his heart. "Where is she?"

The man pointed at a house at the far end of the village. "She's in there. Old man Travis is taking care of her."

The soldier didn't spare the two villagers another glance before he rushed towards the house at full speed, opening the door and entering without bothering to knock first.

"Where is she? Where is Rosa?" He asked in a panic. He stepped into the next room where his eyes fell onto a heavily sweating woman lying in a bed. It was indeed the woman he loved.

"Rosa? What's wrong?" He asked the beautiful, blonde-haired girl and took her hand in his while using his other one to feel her forehead. She had a high fever, no doubt about it. "Rosa," he said once more, very softly this time.

"What are you doing here?" An old man came out of an adjacent room "Let her go. Can't you see she's ill?"

Before the dark knight could answer Rosa uttered some words in her delirious state, "Cecil. Cecil, be careful!"

"Are you Cecil?"

"Yes, I am. What's wrong with her?" He urged the elder for an answer.

The old man sadly shook his head. "It's really unfortunate. She has contracted desert fever. To cure it you need a rare jewel called the sand ruby, found only in a cave where an Antlion dwells. There is no other known cure."

"Where can I find an Antlion?" He frantically asked. "I'll do anything to help her."

"They are very rare and the only one I know of lives in a cave near Damcyan. Unfortunately I don't know the exact location.

"That doesn't matter. I'll find it," the determined young man promised. He then took the white mage's hand once again. "Rosa, I promise that I'll bring back the cure. I won't let you die."

He then turned back to Travis. "Old man, I leave her in your care. Please do your best to keep her alive till I'm back." Not waiting for an answer he rushed out of the house and after a short stop at the item shop he was off to Damcyan hoping that he'd be back in time.

**01234543210**

About 5 hours after falling asleep Tellah was the first to wake up. The others were still sleeping peacefully and the sage let them rest for a while longer while he packed up their gear and got everything ready for their departure.

When she was roused out of her sleep Ranma felt completely revitalized and full of energy. In fact, she couldn't remember when she felt that good for the last time, well, except for the previous night at the inn. Usually her wake up call was a panda-induced flight through the window and into the koi pond or a bucket of ice cold water to the face courtesy of the tomboy. No, she was quite certain that she definitely preferred this way.

"How are you feeling?" She asked Kasumi and Rydia who were also waking up. The two had fallen asleep so fast that she couldn't help but worry about them. They weren't as durable as she was after all, but it seemed that her fears had been unfounded, which was confirmed by their answers.

"I'm feeling great," was the brunette's answer and she was the first one surprised by that fact. "With all the exercise I got yesterday I should at least feel some pain or stiffness, but instead it is like I had just come back from a long, relaxing vacation. These tents are really useful"

"That they are," Tellah agreed. "You can say that they are a traveler's best friend. Never leave on a journey without a stock of them."

He then remembered something he had forgot to tell the dimensional travelers. "Oh, there's one more thing I forgot to tell you, and this concerns you the most, Ranma since you rely more on your physical prowess. You have to cast your spells more often. It's the only way to improve their efficiency and increase your mana reserves."

"So, it's just like mi ki, right?" she asked. "I remember that I only had a small amount when I started out."

"That's correct. The more spells you cast the faster you improve."

The pigtailed girl nodded in agreement. The old man hadn't steered her wrong so far and it made sense.

They cooked a small meal and Ranma wanted to heat up some water to change back to her natural form, but Tellah told her not to bother since the watery passages would make sure she wouldn't stay in that form for very long. She put her canteen back into her pack and wolfed down the sandwiches Kasumi had prepared for them with the supplies they had brought with them. Ranma was still hungry afterwards, but Tellah reassured her that they'd reach Damcyan in a few hours and that she could have her fill of food once they had arrived.

Mouth watering at the thoughts of all the new and unknown dishes she could try she geared up very quickly. "What are you waiting for? Let's go."

The other laughed at her enthusiasm but were ready very quickly.

The day went pretty much like the previous one and the companions were fighting their way through more groups of monsters, but having some experience now and knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses they were doing so much more efficiently, and having thought against the same kind of creatures before they knew how to deal with them. Ranma was also using her spells from time to time, but the only really efficient one was the 'Goblin Punch'. The other two spells she knew, 'Magic Hammer' and 'Pond's Chorus', were rather useless since most critters didn't use magic or were immune to the effects of the curse, although the few times it worked it was rather funny to see the monster's reaction to its new form.

The fights had turned into a routine and the creatures were dispatched efficiently under Tellah's guidance. Ranma, having learnt her lesson after her bad experience with the toads the previous day, was less impetuous and listened to the sage's explanations first before rushing into the fight.

Kasumi smiled at this obvious sign that her friend was finally maturing from a boy, happy happily, glad to see her friend finally mature from a boy into a man. She had made a lot of progress with him over the last few months, but her loss against the monster was the obvious push that made her finally grow up. Things could only get better from now on.

Things got a bit more complicated, however, when they encountered a group of creatures the three girls hadn't seen before. The group was formed of four red, gelatinous blobs with large, vicious eyes and sharp teeth. The sage identified them immediately as Red Mousse, a monster that belongs to the Pudding family and is immune to physical attacks. Knowing how to deal with them he gave his men, or rather girls, their orders, which they followed on the spot.

"Ranma! Your physical attacks will be useless in this fight. Use your spells and see if any of them work. Kasumi! Same goes for you. Don't waste your arrows but stay back and save your mana in case any of us need to be healed. Rydia! They are weak against fire. Use your fire spells and they should be done for with one attack."

Ranma and Kasumi immediately complied, but Rydia froze on the spot without anyone noticing. The martial artist was the first to act, but her 'Pond's Chorus' spell had no effect on the critters. Tellah's fire spell on the other hand was very effective as one of the creatures was incinerated on the spot. Unfortunately that was when things went downhill for the adventurers.

The old man had quickly noticed that the summoner hadn't cast her own fire spell and his eyes widened when he saw the reason for this. The poor girl was cowering on the ground, rocking back and forth, her head buried in her arms, and continuously mumbling to herself: "not the fire, not the fire, not the fire…"

Being away from the battle and having a good overview of everything that was happening Kasumi had noticed too and without any concern for her own safety she ran over to the shivering girl and cradled her protectively in her arms.

After signaling the older girl to take Rydia away from the battlefield Tellah returned his attention to the fight to give the summoner the only help he could at the moment: keeping any potential threat away from her. "Try the 'Goblin Punch!" He shouted to the redhead before dodging one of the Red Mousse's bite. "I don't know if it will work, but it's worth a try."

Ranma successfully evaded the two other monster's pincer attack and did as she was told. "GOBLIN PUNCH!" The monster was lifted into the air by the violence of the numerous blows raining down on it and it had already expired before its carcass landed back the ground.

Ranma took the time to quickly turn around and check on the two girls and was relieved to see them at a safe distance, Rydia still cradled in Kasumi's arms while the brunette was whispering soothing words into her ear.

Tellah did the same and deeming the frightened girl at a safe distance he cast another fire spell which killed another Red Mousse, which the redhead quickly dealt with courtesy of another 'Goblin Punch'.

Not wasting another thought on the monsters the two fighters quickly joined Kasumi and Rydia.

"How is she?" They asked at the same time while looking at the sobbing child with concern in their eyes. The summoner was safely cradled in Kasumi's arms, head buried in the novice mage's shoulder.

"She's calmed down a bit now," Kasumi alleviated their concerns, "but I'm afraid the trauma she's suffered when she had to witness the death of all her loved ones is so severe that she'll need a lot of help to overcome it. We have to be really cautious and keep her away from fire."

Ranma and Tellah were feeling helpless for not being able to help the distressed girl and being reduced to watching the brunette try her best to calm down the poor child. Ranma really felt sorry for Rydia as her current state brought back memories of a certain pit where she had suffered a trauma of her won. She really hoped for her friend's sake that she'd be able to overcome her fears or else she'd have a very difficult life ahead of her. It was much easier to avoid cats than it was to avoid fire after all, and at least in her case the fear had lessened a bit over the years and she could now at least support the presence of a single housecat without running away in fear as long as it was 5 meters away and she didn't have to pet it.

While the redhead had been reminiscing Rydia had finally calmed down and her sobbing had stopped altogether.

"Feeling better?" Kasumi asked the traumatized child, concern showing in her voice and when the young girl nodded timidly she gave her an encouraging smile and patted her on the head before letting her go.

"Sorry about that," Rydia apologized while rubbing her eyes dry.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," the sage reassured her. "It's not your fault that you had to witness the destruction of your village. You did nothing wrong, and we weren't hurt in the fight anyway. Don't think about it any longer. I'm sure that you're strong enough to overcome your fear one day. You're a very brave girl and I'm really happy to have met you. I'm sure Ranma and Kasumi agree with me."

"R-Really?"

"Really," the old man confirmed.

The summoner's face lit up and she put her arms around Tellah's waist and hugged him with all the strength she could muster which once again reminded the elder of his daughter who used to do that regularly when she was a child.

She let go and gave Ranma and Kasumi a quick hug too. "Okay. We have some monster butt to kick. Let's go!" She shot her punch in the air in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere.

The others smiled at the young girl's enthusiasm. They weren't fooled for a minute of course and knew that the summoner was still shaken up, but there was nothing more they could do for her and let it slide for the moment. She would probably be her usual self once again very soon.

They started off again killing monsters along the way, which not only allowed Rydia to find more items and money, but also kept her mind from her earlier traumatic experience.

"We're almost there," the old man announced as they were walking through the last cave and he chuckled when he heard the others sigh with relief. Ahead of them they could already see the daylight through a large opening in the distance and anxious to get out of the dreary cave the youngsters threw caution to the wind and hurried towards the exit. Unfortunately, they didn't watch their steps and got caught flatfooted by a loud bellow and Ranma losing her balance when something rubbery was pulled from under her feet. The redhead looked down and saw that the rubbery thing in question was a tail; a rather long one even, belonging to a very large and very angry, purplish-blue alligator. Before she had time to react, a massive jaw snapped shut, trapping her leg and causing her to cry out in pain as the alligator's bite tightened and blood flowed out of the monster's mouth, and it was only thanks to her enchanted gear that her foot was still attached to her leg.

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) pain was nothing new to her and she had the presence of mind to channel ki into her leg, strengthening it enough to keep the alligator from biting through it.

The pain didn't last long however as two lightning spells, courtesy of Tellah and Rydia quickly ended the monster's life.

With the alligator dead its jaw muscles relaxed and Ranma easily freed her leg. Kasumi was at her side in an instant and immediately healed the wound not even leaving a scar behind.

"Sorry about that," the redhead apologized. "I should have paid attention to my surroundings."

"Ah well, you've learned your lesson, I think, and I hope the others have too." Tellah admonished them. "This could have happened to any of you. Next time you'll be cautious. Danger lurks everywhere and it's not always obvious or even visible. Don't forget that!"

They kept quiet and didn't object. After all, what could they say? They had been careless and Tellah had been right to reprimand them.

When they got out of the passage the first thing they did was sit down for a few moments to bask in the sunshine. After all this time inside those somber caves and tunnels, only lit by some kind of fluorescent lichen growing on the walls, it was nice to feel the sun again.

Ranma was lying on her back in the grass and looking at the birds flying overhead. "So, where is this monster?"

"It's just ahead of us, inside that cave," the old man pointed at an opening in the mountainside.

The redhead groaned in dismay. "Ugh! Not another cave."

"I'm afraid so. No need to worry though. We'll reach the monster very fast. Just watch your step; the ground is very wet and slippery. Before we head in, please check your equipment, all of you. This will probably be a very tough fight and we shouldn't head in unprepared and it's very likely we'll have to get rid of a few groups of monsters first before we reach the strong one."

They followed the elder's recommendations and checked their weapons and gear for damage. After making sure everything was in order and that each had at least one potion and one ether in their pockets and within reach they entered the opening in the rock face, arms at the ready.

They entered the new cave and quickly realized that the sage had been grossly understating the slipperiness of the ground as they had to wade through a large expanse of running water reaching their ankles.

They reached a steep flight of stairs which were carved into the wall next to a large waterfall and led down to the next floor, but before they could climb down an accident happened. Kasumi, who was not used to this kind of terrain, slipped and tumbled into the other three whom all lost their balance and fell into the water. Before they could get up and out of danger they had already been grabbed by the current and were falling down the waterfall.

Fortunately they fell into a deep lake free of rocks and surprisingly enough no one was injured, except that Rydia, Kasumi, and Tellah felt slightly dizzy, but that passed very quickly and, aided by Ranma, they safely made it out of the water and on solid ground.

"I'm sorry," Kasumi apologized feeling ashamed for the accident.

"Well, no harm done," Tellah downplayed the incident. "That could have happened to anyone. Don't worry about it too much. No one was hurt, right?"

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Ranma added her two cents. "Everyone makes a mistake from time to time; just look at my blunder with the alligator earlier. I'm sure Rydia won't hold it against you either, right?"

The greenette gave a short nod.

"See?" The martial artist gave Kasumi and encouraging smile.

"What's done is done. At least we got down faster," the elder joked before turning serious again. "Right. Enough of that; we have a monster to slay."

They made good progress as Tellah still remembered the way, but they had to fight a few group of monsters along the way, none of which posed a serious threat. The Zombies were easily dealt with a few curative spells. Ranma took care of the Alligators which were surprisingly fast for their size but otherwise didn't pose too much of a challenge so that the others didn't have to waste their mana. The Tiny Mages and Sahagins were quickly dealt with too thanks to the group's impressive teamwork. They also got some more loot from the Zombies and the Tiny Mages, among which a fire rod that went to Tellah.

"Say, Tellah?" Ranma asked. "Why don't you have better equipment? You've been around for a long time and been in many battles, right? So shouldn't you have better equipment."

"I do and I have," the old man sighed and shook his head at this own foolishness, "but when the bard left with my daughter I was just so angry. I chased after them as soon as I noticed that they were gone and in my haste completely forgot to take my things, except for my potions satchel which never leaves my side."

"Ah, okay," the redhead answered in a subdued tone as she felt really stupid for asking.

All in all it had taken them about an hour to reach the foot of a wide waterfall that was falling from a long distance above and in front of which a very large octopus like creature was waiting for prey.

"Is that it?" Ranma pointed at the large critter. The monster was huge; at least as large as the Sand Worm and it had eight tentacles. It was orange with blue stripes and a conic head. Two large, bulging eyes were following their every movement and the large mouth, filled with pointy teeth was grinning at the food on legs that had so voluntarily decided to enter its den.

"Yes. That's an Octomammoth. Unfortunately I had already spent most of my mana before getting here and so I had no way to kill it. I was lucky to get away with my life and even luckier to avoid any monsters on the back to the entrance. The stairs up the wall where we fell down were particularly difficult to climb in my diminished state."

He shook his head at his own stupidity. "I doubt the creature will pose much of a threat to us, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious. Its attacks are rather strong but as it's a water creature it should be very weak against lightning attacks. Same strategy as usual: Ranma attacks up front and focuses on physical attacks as well as keeping it occupied while Rydia and I cast our lightning attacks. Kasumi stays in the back and saves her mana just in case one of us gets injured. Any questions?"

The instructions were clear and reasonable and after readying their weapons the old man gave the signal to attack, the monster patiently waiting in front of the exit for the foolish humans to attack it.

Ranma attacked at full and before the Octomammoth could defend itself a claw had already penetrated its thick, rubbery skin without doing much damage. _'Darn! It's really tough'_, the redhead frowned as she jumped away just before the creature was consecutively hit by two 'Thunder' spells.

"It definitely felt those," the martial artist remarked as she saw the critter's singed skin.

Kasumi shot an arrow, and although it pierced the creature's skin tge damage it did was minimal.

"Don't attack it!" Tellah shouted over to the brunette. "Just stay out of the fight until we need healing! Don't draw its attention!"

The warning had come too late however as the cunning creature had successfully identified the weakest link and used the elasticity of its tentacles to strike at the white mage.

This came as a total surprise to group as they had seriously underestimated the length of the monster's appendages and they could just watch as one of the tentacles stretched like a rubber band and shot past them at an impressive speed and right at Kasumi.

The brunette panicked when she realized what was about to happen and instead of jumping out of the way she closed her eyes, crossed her arms in front of her chest to soften the blow, and prayed for some kind of protection.

She waited for the impact which failed to arrive. Instead of feeling pain she heard a loud bellow booming through the cavern and immediately opened her eyes. Right in front of her a large Sand Worm was writhing in pain before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The four travelers had no time to reflect on this strange event as the Octomammoth relentlessly continued to attack them.

Kasumi moved back even further to avoid becoming a liability for the others but couldn't get the strange occurrence out of her mind. It reminded her of something she had seen before and then she remembered Myst and the large creature Rydia had summoned when she was frightened. That had to be it. She was sure that she had just unlocked another one of her abilities. But how did it work? It shouldn't be too difficult to replicate the feat now that she knew that she had the ability. Why did the Sand Worm appear and not another creature? Because of its size, of course. That had to be the answer. She needed protection and the Sand Worm was the best protection she could get. Could she summon other monsters, though? It was worth a try. She needed something that could easily fight in water and do some damage. Then it hit her. She knew just what monster to use.

She imagined the creature in her mind, trying to remember as many details as possible. When she was sure she had a very clear picture of the monster she channeled some mana and concentrated on a spot next to the Octomammoth. In a cloud of smoke an Alligator appeared right in front of the orange monster, waiting for its temporary mistress's command.

"Attack!" The brunette ordered without wasting any time and the Alligator complied immediately. It opened its large maw and bit down on one of the tentacles. The monster shrieked in pain and tossed the hurting appendage to and fro, trying to shake off the smaller creature. The summon disappeared in another cloud of smoke, and although it hadn't weakened the Octomammoth substantially it had at least distracted it long enough to give Ranma, Tellah, and Rydia a free attack. They didn't waste their chance and before the squid/octopus amalgam could defend itself it had already been hit by a 'Goblin Punch' and two lightning bolts.

Kasumi was really excited now and happy that she had now a good means to actively take part in the battle, her arrows not having had the desired effect after all. She wanted to experiment some more, but was not sure what to summon next. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a loud yell. She looked at the fighters and immediately noticed Ranma holding her left side in pain as blood was freely flowing through her fingers. She had obviously taken a very nasty blow.

Kasumi didn't need any prompting to do her part. She immediately ran over to the redhead and healed the wound.

"How are you feeling?" She enquired.

"Much better. Thanks a lot."

The brunette nodded and retreated to a safe distance, keeping an eye on the situation without endangering herself while Ranma rejoined the fight. The redhead had completely analyzed and dissected the attack patterns of the creature and so it was easy to avoid any more directs hits.

"Hehe! You can't hit me, loser. I know grannies that are faster than you are. Whoops, you missed me. Booooh! You suck!" She taunted the monster and danced through its attacks with great ease, angering it and making sure to keep its attention on herself instead of the others.

The strategy worked really well and after one or two minutes the Octomammoth finally drew its last breath after being the target of a very strong combined lightning attack from the two black mages.

A rather tired martial artist wiped some sweat off her forehead after the fight. "Oooh boy! That sure was a tough cookie." She sat down into the shallow but had a smile on her face. "That really took a lot out of me. I'm glad that's over with."

She then looked at at her friend with a lot of respect in her eyes. "That was brilliant, Kasumi. How did you do that with the monster?"

"I'm not really sure," she answered. "When I saw the attack coming I closed my eyes in fear and wished for help. I then felt a pull on my mana and the Sand Worm appeared in front of me. I only noticed it when I opened my eyes to see why the attack hadn't hit and saw the wall of flesh in front of me. I guess, that makes me a summoner, just like Rydia."

"No, you are not. You're a beastmaster (1)," Tellah explained and seeing the puzzled look on the otherworlder's faces he elaborated for their sakes. The only common ability summoners and beastmasters share is the summoning of creatures to fight for them. That's where the similarities end. Rydia's summoned creatures have many names, but the most common one is 'Eidolon'. They are a race of powerful, intelligent beings from another dimension and a summoner and only answer a summoner's call if they are under contract with that specific summoner. Kasumi on the other hand can only summon common monsters and animals without the need for a contract. However, she can only summon a creature if she has defeated a similar one before. It is possible for a monster to resist the summoning if it's much stronger than the beastmaster, but that only happens rarely. For example, Kasumi can probably summon any of the creatures we've defeated in the cave, while Ryida is limited to Chocobo and Goblin at the moment. However, what the beastmaster has in quantity the summoner makes up in power. Eidolons are much more powerful than monsters and it is rumored that some of them are even able to topple whole mountain rages or cause continent-wide earthquakes. One characteristic the two types of creatures share, however, is that they disappear after a single attack."

"Okay. I understand, I think. I have a broader choice of monsters, but Rydia's are a lot more powerful. That's good. Finally I'll be more useful in a battle."

"That's not all," the sage continued. "If you're diligently working on your abilities you can become a monster tamer. Monster tamers have the ability to pacify monsters and animals and keep them as companions and have them fight for them. The longer they keep and train them the stronger they get. Over time beast and tamer form a strong bond up to a point where they can communicate mentally with each other. This would be very useful for you as you can have the monster take care of the physical part of the battle while you stay back and use your spells. A very powerful combination."

"Hey, that's great, Kasumi. I'm really happy for you," Ranma congratulated her friend. "I know you've been a disappointed that you couldn't take a more active role in the fight. Well, I think this solves that particular problem."

The brunette blushed slightly at the redhead's praise. It was definitely nice to be complimented for something other than one's cooking skills. She could really get used to it.

"Well, that's the gist of it," the old man continued. "There's more, but I must really insist that we hurry to Damcyan now. I can feel it in my old bones; something horrible is going to happen very soon."

At the elder's urging they quickly left the cave, but once they were outside Ranma stopped. "Could you go ahead? I'll quickly change back to a guy and catch up to you."

"Will you be alright?" Kasumi worried. "What if you get attacked?"

"Nah, don't worry! Look around us. See? There's nothing dangerous here."

The old man sighed. He didn't want to lose any more time than necessary. "Is it really that important?"

The redhead sighed. No one ever understood her. "No, but I feel more comfortable in my normal form. Look. How would you feel if you changed gender all the time? It will only take a minute; just long enough for the water to heat."

The elder shook his head. "Alright. Let's get this over with. I'll help you."

"Kasumi! Could you take Rydia away, please?" He asked the brunette. "I don't want to frighten her."

The summoner quickly figured out what the old man was about to and didn't put up any resistance when Kasumi took her hand and led her away.

"Give me your canteen! I'll speed things up." Tellah grabbed the container and let a little bit of mana trickle into the index finger of his other hand where a small flame sprung up. He held the canteen over the flame and in a span of only a few seconds the water was hot enough to trigger the curse.

"There you go," he said and handed Ranma the container.

The redhead upended the water over her head and the usual transformation took place once again, under Tellah's close scrutiny this time as he wanted to get a closer look at the transformation itself, having only seen the end result the day before.

Ranma stretched his limbs and adjusted his clothes. "Aaah! It's good to be back." He looked at the armlet and saw that had changed into a simpler form resembled his usual bracers. In fact, it looked even good on him in his opinion. He was glad to see that the old man had been right. It would have been really embarrassing otherwise.

"Well, if there's nothing else I suggest we leave. Damcyan is not far away and I want to get there as soon as possible."

Kasumi and Rydia who had rejoined the two men agreed and the group was off. On their way they had to fight several groups of monsters as their was no way to sneak past them in this open plain, but they were no challenge at all, being weaker than those in the Waterway.

As they got closer they heard a loud ruckus going and saw soldiers fighting in the distance. They sped up and as they approached the castle they saw a small group of soldiers run away.

Ranma's anger exploded when he recognized the color and make of their armor: Baron.

"Oh, no! The castle is under attack!" Tellah shouted. "Quick! We have to find my daughter."

They sped up and when they reached the huge building they saw that the battle was still being fought, and judging by the number of dead soldiers from both sides, the battle was very fierce, but the defenders had put a good fight.

"Where's my daughter? Where's Anna?" The sage frantically asked as he grabbed a wounded soldier by his shoulder, a manic look in his eyes that made the man shiver promised a lot of pain if the answer was not satisfactory.

The man gulped and quickly spilled the beans. "She- She's on the top floor- with the prince."

Tellah let go of the frightened soldier and run towards the stairs, followed by Ranma and the others. They took care of the Baron soldiers that were in the way but for the rest didn't interfere with the battle.

When they arrived on the top floor they saw a huge fight taking place between a group of twenty to twenty-five Damcyan soldiers that were shielding a girl who was flinging spells around and a very large, sinister looking man completely covered in blue and black armor, wearing an imposing horned helmet and horned shoulder pads. He was accompanied by a group of twenty sword fighters and ten archers.

"Give up!" He ordered. "You don't stand a chance."

"Never!" The girl countered, obviously not afraid him. "Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged. "DARK STRIKER" A dark stream of energy left his cupped hands and instantly killed most of the soldiers protecting the girl.

"ANNA!" Tellah shouted and run as fast as he could to join his daughter.

Ranma felt a shiver going through his body. That attack. It had felt nothing like his ki blasts. This energy was… vile, evil even. It was like a beam of pure, distilled hate. That was definitely one attack he'd never want to learn. He ran after the old man followed by Kasumi and Rydia. Unfortunately, before they could reach the unfortunate Damcyan soldiers and help them the large man had already lifted his arm and given the archers the signal to shoot.

"NOOOOO!" The sage shouted as he saw the arrows fly at his daughter. He tried to reach her in time but knew right away that he would be too late.

*****BESTIARY*****

GIGANTOAD: except for its size the Gigantoad resembles a common frog or toad and doesn't look all that intimidating. However, it would be foolish to discard this monster as a minor threat. It is true that it's not particularly strong or tough, but its whole body is coated by a paralyzing neurotoxin produced by glands on its body which paralyzes any creature immediately that comes in contact with the substance. Other than that the creature is very easy to kill and particularly weak to ice.

TOADGRE: the Toadgre differs from the Gigantoad in two aspects only: it is colored differently and has the ability to cast the blue spell 'Pond's Chorus' which it usually does when it feels threatened.

RED MOUSSE: the Red Mousse belongs to the Pudding Family and is a red, blob-like creature whose only defining features are its two very large bulging eyes and large mouth filled with teeth. No one knows the origin of these strange creatures, but it is speculated that they are the result of magical experiments which would explain the different types of Pudding. It's not very strong, but resistant to physical and magical attacks except against fire spells which are very effective.

ALLIGATOR: the Alligator is a large, ravenous carnivore who eats any meat it finds. It's usually found in the vicinity of large bodies of water as it would die if it didn't keep it skin moist. This monster is especially dangerous when in water as it's a very fast swimmer and perfectly adapted to its habitat. Outside of the water the critter is rather slow and easy to get away from if not surprised. Alligator skins are worth a lot and the meat is delicious, but only experienced hunters go after them.

OCTOMAMMOTH: the Octomammoth was created by a paranoid mage who wanted the perfect guardian for his treasure room. He used some ordinary octopuses and with the use of some unrecorded spells mutated them into the horrors we know today. Unfortunately he lost control of them and was killed when he tried to stop them from escaping. He didn't leave any knows and that's why no one knows what spells were used to arrive at this result. Be cautious when you encounter these creatures as the only really effective weapon against them are lightning spells.

(1) I based my version of the beastmaster on several sources : Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy V and the World of Warcraft's hunter class.

Finished and posted: 2012/02/17


	5. You spoony bard!

**IMPORTANT NOTE!**** This is the second version of the chapter. I've corrected some spelling and grammar mistakes and changed some passages. So, anyone who keeps a copy should download the new version.**

Finally finished this one. I hope you'll like the new chapter. I put a lot of work into it. As I mentioned before I won't quite stick to canon since it would be boring to just replace Cecil with Ranma. You'll find out about on the biggest changes right at the beginning of the chapter. The Damcyan part was supposed to be much shorter but the ideas just kept coming while I was writing. I hope you won't hold it against me, but I know from experience that readers prefer longer chapters anyway.

As always, please tell me if you find any spellings or grammar mistakes as well as missing words. I hate it when my stories contain errors.

If you have any questions, please don't be afraid to leave a review (*hint* *hint*) ot to send a private message. I'm happy for every feedback I get. Remember, the only bad feedback is none at all.

Enough talk. Just lean back and enjoy the show… and don't forget to read the author's note at the end of the chapter.

**Chapter 3 - You spoony bard!**

_**What has gone before:**_

_After a long trek through the Underground Waterway Ranma, Kasumi, Rydia, and Tellah finally confront the Octomammoth that is blocking the exit to Damcyan and after a long, hard fight, in which Kasumi finds out that she has the ability to summon monsters to help her fight, they defeat the monster. With no more obstacles in their way the group hurries towards Damcyan, but as they approach the see that the castle is under attack from Baron's forces. Tellah rushes inside to find his daughter, but when they make it to the last floor they see the girl in a fight against Baronic soldiers. The sage tries to help his daughter, but to his horror a hail of arrows fly towards the poor girl. He is trying to save her, but realizes right away that he'll never make it in time._

"NOOOOO!" Tellah shouted as he saw the arrows fly at his daughter. He knew there was no chance to reach his daughter in time to save her, but he tried anyway, running over to her at full speed, his arm stretched in front of him as if he wanted to push her mentally out of the way.

On his right side he noticed a blur pass him by and recognized Ranma rushing towards Anna at an incredible speed.

'_Damn it! I'm too slow. I'll never make it'_, Ranma cursed inwardly but didn't give up. _'Come on! Just a tad bit faster. Just a little bit'_, he prayed. Something in his brain clicked and a spell came to mind. "HASTE!" He shouted and his surroundings became a blur as his speed increased dramatically, and he reached Anna's position before the arrows could hit her. He quickly grabbed the young woman and jumped away just moments before the arrows struck.

Tellah was still shaking from the awful experience, but relieved that Ranma had made it in time and saved his precious daughter's life. However, very quickly relief made way for stronger emotions that made his blood boil: anger and hate.

"YOU MONSTER!" He shouted at the large man who had ordered his daughter's execution. "I will kill you for that!"

The dark-clad soldier turned his attention from the woman that had defied him to the old man who had just threatened him and looked at him with curiosity. "Don't bother me. Your turn will come. I have a job to finish first," he dismissed the sage, deeming him no threat, but instead concentrated his attention on the black mage who had challenged him and the boy who had saved her.

"Impressive," he complimented the young fighter. "You are fast indeed, but let's find out if you are fast enough to avoid my next attack," he announced, a cruel smirk appearing on his face.

He murmured a mantra and motes of black flame appeared on the tips of his fingers, before drifting away and floating in the air in front of him. He repeated the procedure two more times filling the air with 30 of those fiery motes which then aligned horizontally to form a large, fiery ring around him. He raised his index and the ring rose up vertically before it started to spin faster and faster until it became a barely distinguishable blur. The malevolence oozing from the flames could be felt throughout the room and made everyone shiver, ally and enemy alike.

Powerful as it was the attack had a huge drawback, however: it required complete concentration and even a small mistake could cause it to misfire. It was only the sorcerer's battle experience and well honed senses that warned him of the huge buildup of mana behind him just as he was about to cast his own spell. His senses had never steered him wrong so far and he immediately interrupted his incantation to try and get away before the spell could hit him.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

Tellah was furious. Not only had that bastard tried to kill his daughter, something he would have succeeded in if not for Ranma's timely intervention, but he had also had the gall to insult his skills by dismissing him as inconsequential. He simply wouldn't stand for that. He may have left his prime a long time ago and he wasn't nearly as strong as he used to be, but in the old days, when he had been one of the mightiest wizards in the world, he would have wiped the floor with that young upstart. Unfortunately, old age had caught up to him and severely deteriorated his magical skills. Nowadays he could barely remember some of the mighty spells he used to sling around with ease. Yet, he had to show that evil bastard that that this old man was not someone to be trifled with.

He concentrated very hard, trying to recall some of the spells he hadn't cast in years, and suddenly the perfect one to use in this situation came to his mind. He knew he had to act quickly lest he forgot the powerful spell once again and so without any more time he gathered as much mana as he could spare. Sure, he would be a sitting duck afterwards, but if the spell did its job it wouldn't matter since the fight would be over anyway. "HOLY!" He shouted before a string of large, white beads left his hand and formed a cylinder of spinning pearls above the general's head, before swooping down to imprison him.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

The sorcerer tried to dive out of the target zone before the spell hit, and most of his body had made it out of the blast radius intact. His legs, however, had still been at ground zero and got mangled by the powerful cleansing spell.

He howled in pain for a moment, but very quickly calmed down and looked at Tellah with hate in his eyes. One of his white mages tried to heal the legs, but without success. 'Holy' was one of the most powerful white magic spells known to man after all and particularly effective against evil. The only way to save the man's legs was to first have a very high-level white mage remove the effects of the spell before the wounds could be cured.

The enemy soldiers capitalized on the momentary tacit ceasefire and immediately formed a protective circle around their general.

"Sir Golbez? Are you alright?" The grunt to his immediate right enquired.

"Do I look like I'm alright?" The now named man snarled at the soldier, but quickly turned his attention back to Tellah. The heavily panting old man didn't look like much, but it was clear that he was dangerous, far more dangerous than he had seemed at first glance. Anyone who had mastered such a powerful spell was.

"Don't worry, Sir. We'll make them pay for this," one of the officers promised. "Men! The enemy has attacked our general! Let's show them what happens to those who oppose Baron!"

The soldiers shouted in approval, but Golbez's raised arm stopped them.

"Enough!" The sorcerer ordered before looking at Tellah. "What is your name, old man?"

"I am Tellah, the sage," he answered with a firm voice. "And I am going to kill you for attacking my daughter."

"I have heard of you," Golbez answered, not intimidated in the least by the threat he knew was empty, "and your reputation is indeed deserved. Never before has anyone managed to hurt me this much. I would love to end your life right now, but alas I'm not fit to fight at the moment. I'll let you go for this time. But remember my words well. I WILL have my revenge. You can count on it."

"What are your orders, Sir?" The same officer as before asked.

"We leave," Golbez answered. "We have what we came for."

"What about the airships? Should I give the order?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Let them have their small victory. I want to kill the old man myself, and with the king and queen dead I doubt the kingdom will dare to oppose our kingdom, especially not with that cowardly prince ruling it."

"Hey! You don't seriously think we'll let you leave just like that, do you?" Ranma shouted from the sidelines where he had taken up a defensive stance in front of Anna.

The sorcerer turned his head towards Ranma. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you. It will be my pleasure to end your life right after the old man's."

"Stronger men than you have tried. I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Anything Goes school of martial arts, and I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"I don't have the time to play with you, kid. Another time, maybe," he nonchalantly waved the martial artist off before being teleported away by one of the mages.

The remaining Baron soldiers took his departure as their cue to retreat, which they promptly did, not encountering any resistance on their way out.

"Anna!" The sage ran towards his daughter and hugged her fiercely, tears of joy in his eyes. "Oh Anna! I'm so happy you're safe. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you too."

Then the old man's eyes fell on an unassuming man that was standing behind a few Damcyan soldiers not far away from his daughter, and his mood darkened very quickly.

The stranger looked to be in in his late twenties, had long blond hair and a lithe build. He was wearing a feathered hat, a tunic, and a cape, just like the bards of old.

"YOU!" Tellah pointed at the man before seizing him by the collar, lifting him effortlessly in the air and shaking him violently and with an intensity that frightened the others. Rydia instinctively took cover behind Ranma's legs.

"You spoony bard!" The old man growled, not letting go of the kidnapper. "You're the reason why Anna ran away."

"W-w-wait! L-l-let me ex-x-plain," the bard tried to calm down the furious sage, having trouble expressing himself with all the shaking going on.

"SHUT UP!" Tellah shouted, too enraged to hear reason. "I don't want to hear any excuses. You almost got my sweet little daughter killed. If it weren't for Ranma she'd be dead. DEAD!"

"B-b-but…!" The bard tried once more.

"I told you to SHUT UP! You not only have the gall to kidnap my daughter, but you're also hiding behind her, like a coward, while she's fighting for her life? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you on the spot, you spineless worm!"

The murderous look in Tellah's eyes made the stranger gulp. It was obvious to him that the old man wasn't joking and that he was more than ready to go through with his threat."

Before he could try and reason with the sage once more the one-sided squabble was interrupted by Anna.

"Let him go, father!" She grabbed her father's arms, forcing him to let go of the bard who landed hard on his behind.

The old man tried to grab his daughter's abductor once again, but the young woman had a surprisingly strong grip for such a frail looking person and held him back with ease.

"What are you doing, Anna? Let go of me! I have to teach him a lesson. Listen to me! I know what's best for you. I'm your father."

"No, father! YOU listen to ME! I am old enough to decide for myself. I love Edward with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"NEVER! Over my dead body!" The sage's attention was now fully on his daughter and the bard let out a sigh, relieved that he had a small reprieve from his future father-in-law's anger.

"I won't let you marry that piece of garbage. The kidnapping was bad enough, but putting you in danger like that is just unforgivable. Now, if you really are that eager to marry someone, I have the perfect groom in mind. Not only is he brave and courageous, but he has already earned my respect. In fact, I have him right here with me."

Ranma paled visibly when he realized who the old man was talking about. _'It can't be… not in this world too!'_ He despaired, frantically shaking his head and making warding gestures with his hands.

"Ranma is a brave young man. Not only has he helped me get here, valiantly braving all the dangers we encountered, but he has also saved your life. Now there's someone I wouldn't be ashamed of calling son-in-law."

Ranma let his head fall down in defeat and Kasumi pat him on the back in support while Rydia looked at the scene with obvious interest… and a bit of jealousy, even if she didn't know where that feeling had come from.

"Father! Stop it! You're ridiculous and making a scene. It's not Edward's fault that we fell into an ambush. Things like that happen in a battle."

"That's not an excuse. That worthless fool was probably too afraid to risk his life to save you. He should take a leaf out of the king's book. From what I've heard he's a mighty warrior who's always in the thick of the battle with his men.

"The king is dead!" The bard rudely interrupted the sage with much bitterness in his voice. "He… he died while helping us get away."

The old man just snorted. "A likely story. Why would he try and save someone like you?"

"Father!" Anna interjected reproachfully, angry at his lack of tact. "Let me present to you Edward Chris von Muir, the prince of Damcyan."

"At your service," the prince took off his hat and pushed it against his chest while bending forward.

Tellah froze in shock. It was impossible. How could this coward be related to such a brilliant warrior and tactician? This new information lowered his opinion of the prince even further and he made no show of hiding his feelings. "That's even worse. For a prince to sink that low… I really can't put my disappointment in words."

"Okay, that's it! I'm sick of it!" The sage's daughter exploded. "It's always about what YOU want, father. I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions. Edward is the sweetest and most gentle man you'll ever meet. He loves peace and doesn't like to fight. That doesn't make him any less of a man. If you have something to say do so peacefully, without all the drama. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," he answered meekly and hung his head in shame. That violent outburst had reminded him all too much of his late wife who had quite a temper, and he'd never won a single argument against her.

"You know," Ranma whispered into Kasumi's ear, "this feels just like home. Minus the explosions, violence, and property damage of course. It's really funny to see it from the other side for once."

"You're right," Kasumi agreed. "It's nice not being in the middle of it for once since it's usually up to me to clean up afterwards."

The martial artist looked sheepishly at the brunette.

"Don't feel sorry. It's not that bad these days, since you've been a lot of help lately," the brunette alleviated Ranma's fears.

"Thank you. I know it's not easy on you and I'm trying to be nice to Akane, but she's just too temperamental. Sometimes I have the impression I'm the only one who's trying to make it work. And all that chaos that surrounds us doesn't make it easier for her. Maybe this time away from her will help her calm down a bit. And who knows, things might work out between us once we get back."

Kasumi gave him a radiant smile. He was definitely growing up.

The quarrel was interrupted by a loud shout of "Your Highness!" coming from a door. The voice belonged to a nondescript middle-aged man in simple but expensive looking clothes who was running at full speed towards the prince.

"Ah, Bernard!" Edward happily greeted the man who was one of his father's most trusted advisors and had been put in charge of the Queen's safety for the duration of the crisis. "I'm glad to see you. Hopefully you have some good news."

When the prince saw Bernard's grim look he panicked. "My mother!" He grabbed the advisor's shoulders and stared at him intensely. "My mother is alright, isn't she? Please, tell me she is."

"Your Highness," Bernard removed his feathered hat and lowered his head. "I'm really sorry, but we were betrayed. The enemy forces were waiting for us inside the secret passage behind the throne and took us completely by surprise. The Queen… your mother… I'm really sorry. The white mages tried every curative spell they knew but couldn't bring her back."

Like a puppet that had its strings cut Edward sagged to the ground and just looked ahead with a vacant expression.

"Edward!" Anna quickly embraced the prince from behind and the both of them remained in that position for a few moments. No one dared to interrupt their moment together.

"Darling," the young woman softly whispered. "You need to put yourself together. The people, YOUR people need you. You can't let your emotions keep you from your duties. The future of the kingdom lies in your hands now."

Edward turned his head and looked at his love, tears running down his face as he sobbed into her bosom.

"Let it all out," she pat him on the back a few times.

"Are you feeling better?" Anna asked two minutes later when his tears had finally stopped flowing."

"Not really," he answered as he got up, looking straight forward with a determined look as he had made up his mind, "but I have work to do. I'll save the grieving for later."

"Bernard!" The prince called for the advisor with a strong and authoritative voice. "Gather all the white mages and have them tend to the wounded and dead. Have everyone who can still walk transport everyone else to the infirmary. Let's try and save as many lives as possible."

Bernard didn't waste any time and went to relay the prince's orders. He was happy to see his liege take his duties seriously.

"Ranma! We should help too," Kasumi suggested and the pigtailed teen agreed.

The following few hours were very busy for the companions. Kasumi, Rydia, and Tellah helped the white mages in the infirmary while Ranma took care of bringing in the dead and wounded.

Whenever the mages had exhausted their mana pool they used the miraculous Mana Recovery Pot (1) to refill it. Just as useful was the Health and Stamina Recovery Pot (1). A simple sip of the pot's water restored the drinker back to peak fighting condition, healing most wounds. Unfortunately it couldn't restore missing limbs and only removed some of the known curses. Hearing about this Ranma jumped on the occasion and greedily drank some of the water in hopes of curing his curse without thinking about the possible consequences. He splashed himself with cold water to see if it worked, but it was a grumpy redhead who got bonked on the head by Tellah as he scolded her for her recklessness as there was no way to know how the magic of the pot would react to the foreign magic inside her body. Having to explain her curse to the bystanders didn't help to improve her mood either. But she was mostly angry at herself for once again being too impulsive. At least the magical water hadn't locked the curse as a quick run to the bathroom had confirmed.

Even if they weren't able to cure Jusenkyo curses, Ranma and Kasumi agreed that those magical pots were very useful, even considering the dangers and consequences of overusing them. Apparently, powerful artifacts like these come with some serious drawbacks. Not only does the Stamina Recovery Pot put a serious strain on the body and its ability to regenerate, but drinking its water also accelerates the aging process of the body; the more serious the wound the faster the aging. Some people have even died after indulging too much.

The Mana Recovery Pot has its own drawback. The more you use it the longer it takes for your body to recover mana naturally, but since the white mages in the castle didn't expect another crisis like this one in the near future they didn't bother with the consequences. However, Tellah advised Kasumi and Rydia not to use it more than once since they would probably leave very soon and needed to be in top fighting condition or risk being a liability on the journey.

They understood and took the old man's warning very seriously. And so it was that after having exhausted her reserves Kasumi watched the mages at work, fascinated, hoping to learn some useful spells or at least deepen her knowledge of magic. She loved reading but knew from experience that experience trumped book learning. At the same time she also smiled at the cute scene of Rydia sleeping peacefully on a padded bench with her head on Ranma's knees. The pigtailed teen shrugged his shoulders when he saw Kasumi look into their direction.

The day had been very taxing on everyone, but especially on this little girl who had had to grow up too fast. In the short time she had known her Kasumi had become really fond of the young, courageous summoner who had decided to take life head-on instead of giving in to depression and she wished her sisters were more like this little darling. She fell into a short daydream in which she was standing near a man with no defining shape or face. Rydia was standing between the two of them with a radiant smile on her face while holding their hands. She took a closer look at the faceless and formless stranger and noticed that he wore his hair in a pigtail. She woke up from the dream with her eyes wide open in shock. A healthy blush developed on her face and she shook her head. No, that was just silly. But then again… having seen Ranma and Rydia interact and play together when they had a few moments of free time it was clear to her that the martial artist had taken a liking to the summoner too.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a male voice. "Kasumi, are you okay?"

"What? Oh, Ranma. Yes, I'm alright. A bit tired, though."

"With all the work you've done today that's not surprising. Say, have you seen the prince anywhere? I haven't seen him in a while."

"I haven't seen him either," Kasumi explained. "Look! There's Anna: she probably knows."

The martial artist waved his hand and when Anna noticed them she came over.

"You don't look so good," the white mage noticed. "Did something happen?"

"I'm fine. But Edward isn't. He had hoped that the strongest mages inside the castle might be able to help to bring back his parents, but they didn't have any success."

"How come?" Ranma wondered. "I thought magic could resurrect the dead."

"It's not quite that simple, Ranma," Kasumi calmly explained some of the things she learnt that afternoon. "A white mage told me about the five most important factors that determine the effectiveness of a resurrection spell: the strength and experience of the mage, the spell used, the amount of time that has passed since the moment of death, the age of the deceased, and the state of the body."

"That is correct," Anna confirmed and gave more details. "The spell should have worked but those Baron bastards apparently cast an unknown curse at the bodies which repels all resurrection and healing spells and none of our curse removal spells have worked either. Even my father, one of the most accomplished mages in the world, has never seen anything like it. Edward didn't take it well and has retired to his room to think. I'm not worried, though. He's tougher than my father thinks he is and I'm convinced that he'll get over it."

Kasumi and Ranma were speechless. How could anyone be that cruel? The martial artist thought back to his battle with Saffron, and while the Phoenix king had really tried to kill him and his friends he doubted that even that immoral bastard would have gone that far to get rid of his enemies.

They talked for a while until Anna felt a pair of hands cover her eyes. "Who is it?" A voice asked from behind her.

"Edward," she turned around to embrace the prince. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," he answered bitterly. "All these wars, all these battles… Why can't we all just live in peace? My parents were good people and have never done anything wrong. They had always had the best interests of our people at heart. I just don't understand it."

"Welcome to the real world!" Tellah interrupted Edward, having joined the group a few moments earlier. "Crying and whining won't bring them back. You know that you're pathetic. I really don't understand what my daughter sees in you."

"Father! This really isn't the right moment," Anna scolded the sage once again. "There are more important matters to take care of right now."

"Say," Ranma interrupted. "Why did they attack in the first place? It doesn't make sense. First they start a war and then they leave just like that, without finishing the job."

"That's easy," Edward answered. "They came for the Crystal, and unfortunately they got it. There wasn't really any reason to continue the battle afterwards."

"WHAT!" Tellah interrupted loudly, waking up Rydia at the same time. "They STOLE the Fire Crystal? Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," the prince said, "but one of the prisoners might. Maybe we should ask them."

Not having any better ideas the whole group followed Edward towards the dungeons where the few enemy soldiers that had been captured were held.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

The prison guards stood at attention as soon as they saw their new monarch approach and didn't move until the chief warden had led the group inside.

"Bring one of the prisoners into the interrogation room!" Edward ordered and their guide immediately obliged. They entered a sparsely furnished room containing only a table and a few chairs, and a few minutes later the chief warden had come back with a cuffed man who he then sat forcefully down on a chair.

"Tell us what you know and I'll see to it that you are treated well. If you don't cooperate we'll have to get rough," Edward threatened the prisoner, trying to sound as menacing as possible. Inwardly he hoped that the prisoner would be reasonable and tell them everything he knew as he really didn't want to resort to torture, but he knew that if the man didn't cooperate he had to do it."

The soldier glared defiantly at the prince but didn't say a word.

"It would be in your best interest to cooperate," he tried again, putting even more firmness into his voice.

The soldier remained silent.

Tellah shook his head in disappointment and pushed the prince away. "Let me show you how it's done. Watch and learn!"

The old man looked at the prisoner with contempt before slapping him in the face; hard. "Will you answer?" He growled and slapped the man once more.

"You can't do that!" A shocked Kasumi grabbed the sage's arm. "That's inhuman."

"Violence is the only language they understand," Tellah explained. "A few more of those and he'll tell us everything he knows."

"Isn't there another way?" The gentle young woman tried to reason with the old man.

"No there isn't. And now let me do my work." He freed his wrist from Kasumi's hand and stared at the cuffed man once more.

"Will you talk?" the sage tried once again, but when he still didn't get an answer he shook his head. "You brought this on yourself," he positioned his hands in front of the prisoner. "THUNDER!" He shouted and a small lightning bolt hit the man in the stomach before spreading through the whole body making him cry out in pain.

Kasumi couldn't stand it and looked away. "I can't watch that." She grabbed a protesting Rydia and dragged her out of the room. Ranma, though not as shaken by the spectacle as the brunette agreed with her sentiment and followed the two girls outside.

"Kasumi," the martial artist tried to calm down the upset girl. "I don't like it any more than you do, but I don't see how else we can get the information we need", he explained as another pained shout came from the room.

"I know," she sighed, "but that still doesn't make it right."

"Don't be upset," Rydia tried to help. "He's a bad man and he probably deserves it."

"Yes," Ranma agreed. "Look at what they did to Mist and to the poor people here."

"Maybe," the brunette answered, "but I still don't like it and I don't want to have any part in it."

The pigtailed teen didn't say anything but put his hands on Kasumi's shoulders which calmed her down and gave her the strength to calmly wait for the torture session to end. The three young people waited patiently, the calm only broken by cries of pain and angry shouting. About five minutes later the crying had finally stopped and been replaced with a series of barely audible sobs. Another ten minutes later the door opened and the unconscious prisoner was dragged back to his cell.

They went back to join the other in the room and noticed some blood on the chair and a large puddle of it on the ground.

"Is he...?" Kasumi pointed at the puddle but was interrupted before she could finish her sentence."

"He'll live," Tellah reassured her. "At least until the trial. That's still better than what he deserves"

"So, what did he tell you?" Ranma asked, taking note of the bitterness in the sage's voice.

"Quite a lot, actually," the old man answered. "Baron wants to get their hands on the four Elemental Crystals. They attacked Damcyan to steal the Fire Crystal that was being kept here. They… have already acquired Mysidia's Water Crystal," Tellah continued, fists shaking in anger. They killed the king and the queen as a warning to the other kingdoms that they'd suffer a similar fate if they should ever consider going against Baron. I also learnt that their next target is Fabul's Wind Crystal.

"Mysidia? Your hometown? That's horrible!" Kasumi sympathized with the old man.

Tellah nodded sadly. "Thankfully the population is mostly composed of mages and I'm convinced that they were able to hold casualties to a minimum, but still, it is yet another crime Baron has to answer for… and I WILL make sure they pay in full.

"So, what do we do now?" Ranma asked.

"Well…," the sage stroked his beard in thought, "I did promise to help you find a way back home once we'd rescued my daughter, and you have held up to your part of the bargain, and I intend to keep my promise. However, I'll have to spend a lot of time in the library doing research and I'm afraid that the recent attack has caused a lot of chaos and it might take some time until normality returns to Mysidia. I know you're anxious to leave, but there's nothing I can do right now. In the meantime we should warn Fabul about Baron's plans. If they have the time to prepare they might be able to ward off an enemy attack.

Ranma thought about it for a bit and wasn't sure what to do. Fabul was that place Tellah had mentioned before; the one with the warrior monks. He really wanted to go and see what new techniques they might be able to teach him, but that wouldn't be fair towards Kasumi. He was sure that the brunette desperately wanted to return home to her family. Before he could give his opinion Kasumi had already taken the initiative.

"I think we should head to Fabul," she resolutely stood up, much to the martial artist's surprise.

"I want to see more of the world," she continued, her eyes burning with determination. "I want to help people. I've never felt happier and more alive than I do at the moment. I have the feeling that I can make a difference. I- I'm not ready to go home yet." She put her hand in front of her mouth in shock, realizing just then what she had admitted to.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized and bowed before Ranma. "That was rather selfish of me. I should have considered your feelings."

"Ah, no, that's fine," the martial artist answered. "You're always nice to everyone and you have the right to be selfish for once. I've never seen you so determined. And… well… to tell you the truth," he scratched his head in embarrassment, "I'd really like to meet those monks. Tellah told me that they might know some cool techniques. So, yeah, I'm all for it."

"Thank you." Kasumi gave the martial artist her most radiant smile, before she winced when her eyes fell on Rydia. In her selfish exuberance she hadn't taken the little girl's well-being into account. This world was a dangerous place, and she really didn't know what she'd do if anything happened to the young summoner.

"But what about Rydia?" The brunette asked. "It would be irresponsible of us to put her further into danger when she could stay here where it's safe."

Before she could continue she was interrupted by the girl in question.

"NO!" Rydia shouted, tears appearing in her eyes before she clung to Kasumi's waist. "I want to go with you. I don't want to be left behind. I know I can be useful. Please, don't abandon me."

"No one wants to abandon you," Kasumi hugged the little girl. "On the contrary. I care a lot about you. I'm just afraid for your safety. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't care!" the summoner interrupted. "I know that all of you will keep me safe.

"I guess you have your answer there," Tellah chuckled. "She's definitely more useful than someone else I know," he not quite discreetly stared into the prince's direction.

"Father!" Anna scolded the old man

A growl coming from Ranma's stomach nipped the next impending shouting match in the bud. "Heh! Sorry about that," he apologized. "I guess I am a bit hungry. It's been a while since I had some grub."

"That's quite alright," Edward pat the pigtailed teen amicably on the back and looked sheepishly at the group when his own stomach answered the call. "I guess I'm a bit hungry myself. It's been a long day for all of us. I'll have the cooks prepare a copious meal right away. It's the least I can do for you and your friends for saving Anna and the castle."

True to his words he sent one of his guards to the kitchen and led his guests into the royal family's private dining room which was largely spacious enough to accommodate at least twenty guests.

"Sit down wherever you like," the prince offered as he took a seat next to Anna, drawing the ire of Tellah in the process.

The young woman caught the scathing look her father had shot Edward and was not in the mood to have another quarrel with him. "Father! Not now! We've had this argument earlier and I won't change my mind."

"Whatever do you mean?" The sage innocently asked, but he noticed right away that his daughter wasn't fooled for one second.

"I'm sick of all this arguing and fighting. I want to get it over with now, so let's get to the point. First of all, I'm sorry for what I've done. I know I shouldn't have left like that, but at the time I was just too angry think rationally. Edward is innocent. Eloping was my idea, not his. We even were about to return to Mysidia to apologize when the attack happened."

She shook her head at the stupidity of it all. "But since we're all here now let's discuss this calmly and rationally, like adults. First of all, why don't you want me to marry Edward? Is it because he prefers the life of a bard to that of a warrior?"

"You want to know why? Fine! I will tell you why. It has nothing to do with the fact that he likes to play the harp and recite poetry all day… well, mostly. No. The real problem is that he wooed you secretly behind my back. If he were a real man he would have introduced himself and asked me for permission to date you. But what does that spineless bastard do instead? He runs away with you in the middle of the night, like a common thief, just because he's too afraid to ask me for your hand in marriage. How do you expect me to respect someone like that?"

Edward let his head hang in shame since he couldn't deny the old man's accusations.

"I might even still have consented to the union if I hadn't seen him cower in fear while you were targeted by the bowmen. That just proves that he doesn't really love you or else he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself to save you. I don't understand how you can love someone who isn't even willing to lay down his life for you.H He really is a despicable creature."

"Are you quite finished?" Anna asked after Tellah had run out of steam. "Well, let me tell you one thing. There are many women that prefer a sensible man like my Edward here to a brute who thinks that violence is the solution to everything. Edward is the sweetest soul you'll ever meet and he always tries to get along with everybody. If you had just agreed to our marriage we wouldn't have had to run away."

The old man blinked at this. "Wait! What was that about me not agreeing to the marriage? What are you talking about?"

Now it was Anna's turn to blink. "Well, it's true. When Edward asked your permission to marry me you refused, very rudely if I might add."

"Are you out of your mind?" Tellah raged and slammed his fist on the table. "He never asked me anything. I've never even really spoken to him. I had the impression he was avoiding me.

Anna turned her head towards the prince who gulped in fear when he saw the frown on the young woman's face. "Edward darling? Is that true?" She asked in her sweetest voice. "You wouldn't lie to me, now would you? Father is just making this up, right?"

"Ah, well. You see… Erhm, sweetheart, please understand…," the prince stuttered.

"But… what about what you've told me? That he refused to let us get married and violently disapproved of our relationship? Were all of those words lies?"

"I'm sorry. I'm really, REALLY sorry," Edward apologized. "I wanted to ask him, but when I saw the disapproving look on his face I just lost my nerve and couldn't do it. I was certain he would refuse," he admitted shamefully.

"Oh, Edward," the young woman shook her head. "You should have told me. No wonder father is so upset."

"Do you understand his true nature now?" The sage smirked as the prince had finally shown his true face. There was no way his daughter would want to stay with him now. "Do you really want to get married to someone like that?"

"Yes. Yes, I do," Anna affirmed. "I am a bit disappointed with him right now, but I love him… with all my heart. But you're right. That was a really shameful thing to do, so how about I make a deal with you?"

"What deal?" The old man asked curiously, not understanding what his daughter was getting at.

"Give me six months. Six months and I'll turn him into someone you would proudly call son-in-law."

"WHAT?" Tellah and Edward shouted at the same time.

"I know he's not very courageous right now, but I'm sure we can work on that," she explained. "I want you to consent to our marriage, but I'll wed him anyway, whatever you say. I'm a grown woman and can decide for myself who I want to marry."

"But, sweetheart," Edward tried to reason with the young woman.

"No buts, darling. Father is right. You need to be more assertive, especially now that you have a country to rule. Your subjects need a strong monarch to help them get through this crisis. You have responsibilities now."

The prince looked rather unsurely at his love, but when he saw her determined look he really didn't want to disappoint her and banged his fist on the table, surprising everyone. "You know what? You're right. I HAVE responsibilities. But… I don't really know what to do," he deflated a bit, surprised at his earlier boldness.

"Don't worry, dear," Anna took his hand in hers and smiled at him, "I'll help you. We will manage… together."

"Ah, well… Six months you say?" Tellah stroked his beard in thought. "Oh, alright. Since you won't come home willingly and I can't force you, that's probably the best I can get. At least I'm glad you're alright. Leaving like that without saying anything… The nerves. I was worried, you know?"

"I'm sorry, father. I guess I hadn't really thought that far. That was stupid and inconsiderate from my part. Please forgive me."

"Of course I do," the sage got up and took his daughter in his arms. "Just promise me you won't do be so reckless again."

"I promise."

"As for you", the old man looked at the prince disapprovingly. "I'm not convinced you are the right one for my little girl, but I hope for her sake that you'll be able to get your act together and make something out of yourself. You've got six months. Don't waste them."

Edward nodded solemnly as he was determined to prove himself to his future father-in-law.

With that heavy topic out of the way the mood inside the room lightened considerably and dinner was served shortly afterwards. During the meal the gathered heroes were talking about this and that, answering Kasumi and Ranma's question about the kingdom and the world in general, as well as the different dishes served. They couldn't place most of the ingredients, but the food was delicious. Edward and Anna were very surprised to hear that the two were from a different universe and asked some questions of their own about the similarities differences between both worlds.

Once they had finished Ranma remembered something he had wanted to ask earlier but had completely forgotten in all the chaos. "Say, Tellah? What was that spell I used earlier?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Tellah joked. "That spell is called 'Haste' and increases the speed of the target. I have to admit that it came as a surprise to me since it's not a novice spell."

"I figured that much. What I want to know is what kind of magic it is.

"Well, that's difficult to say," the sage replied. There are several kinds of mages who can learn the spell, among them white and black mages. Why don't we find out? Now that you've successfully cast a new spell it should be easy for you to find out. Just do the same thing you did last time and you should be able to find your secondary magical specialization mana pool. Give it a try.

Ranma cleared his mind once more and fell into a trance. This time it went faster since he knew what to look for and Tellah almost fell off his chair when he saw the color of the pigtailed boy's aura. It was green.

"I wasn't expecting that," Tellah stated. "That's quite a surprise."

It took a few moments for Ranma to wake up from his trance but once he'd recovered his bearings he immediately asked the expected question. "What does the green color mean?"

"It means that you're a time mage, sometimes also called green mage. Time mages use spells that influence time and space. It's perfect for you."

"What do you mean?" The martial artist asked, intrigued.

"Well, it could be your ticket home. With enough training you might be able to open a portal that can send you back to your dimension. However, you have a long way to go before you can even hope learning a spell like that? It's one of the rarest forms of magic there is and it's a really strange coincidence that you should gain it."

"Maybe because I came here through a portal," Ranma suggested.

"Hmmm, could be," the old man agreed, but I'm not sure. I doubt that alone would be enough since most of the spells are related to time."

"What about the Nanban Mirror," Kasumi advanced her own theory, remembering that incident quite well. After all, how often do you witness time travelling?

"What's a Nanban Mirror?" The sage asked. He had never heard of such a mirror before.

"Of course, the Nanban Mirror. How could I forget about that?" The martial artist shook his head and explained it to Tellah. "The Nanban Mirror is an artifact that allows the user to travel through time and I used it to try to get rid of the curse. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me and eventually the mirror got destroyed."

"I'd really like to hear that story," Rydia stated. "It sounds like fun."

"Believe me, it wasn't," Ranma answered, but did tell the story anyway, much to the amusement of everyone around the table.

They talked a while longer before they got up and Edward showed them to their rooms. They had a long day ahead of them and needed all the sleep they could get.

**0****1****2****3****4****5****4****3****2****1****0**

(1) They are not named in the game.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES!**

As you've probably noticed I've fleshed out the Damcyan part a lot more than the game did. The reason is that there are a lot of things that don't make much sense in the game.

For instance, it doesn't make sense that Edward knows stuff about Golbez when even Cecil has never heard of him.

Anna's death (much like Aerith's in FF VII) doesn't make any sense since it's possible to resurrect people. I could have come up with lots of ways to bypass that problem, but not letting her dies in the first place was the easiest and most original I think.

Edward making his grand entrance after Cecil found an agonizing Anna doesn't make much sense either. If you love someone would you just leave that person all alone like that? I doubt it. The scene was probably just scripted that way to add some angst.

As you've noticed I took some liberties with the king and queen's death, but since they aren't relevant to the story anyway it doesn't really matter, but it gives an explanation as to why resurrection doesn't always work.

We never learn why Edward eloped with Anna. Well, I think I came up with a good enough reason.

POSTED 2013/01/20

EDITED 2013/01/26


End file.
